This bill, called the COOL Online Act, would require many new products that must be marked under section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to show origin information on their internet product pages. The product description must clearly state the country of origin (or countries for multi-sourced products) and the country where the seller has its principal place of business. For certain drugs that must be marked, the website must show the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor as required by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
The bill lists several exclusions. The origin and seller-location disclosure would not apply to certain agricultural commodities, inspected meat, poultry, and egg products, or to foods and drugs under FDA jurisdiction. It would not apply to used or previously owned articles sold on online marketplaces. Small sellers (defined as sellers with under $20,000 in annual sales and fewer than 200 discrete sales) are also excluded.
Manufacturers, importers, distributors, sellers, suppliers, or private labelers must provide the required origin and seller information to retailers. A retailer or marketplace seller meets the disclosure requirement if it posts the country and seller information provided by a third-party supplier. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would enforce the rule as an unfair or deceptive practice under the FTC Act. The FTC must enter an agreement with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Agriculture within six months to provide consistent implementation and publish that agreement. The rule would take effect 12 months after that agreement is published. The bill also limits retailer liability if the retailer relied in good faith on false information provided by a third party and promptly removed the false information on notice.
If the bill becomes law, many online product pages for new, foreign-origin products would show where the product was made and where the seller is based. Many food and drug items regulated by the FDA, inspected meat, poultry, eggs, used goods, and very small sellers would not need to provide these disclosures. The rule would be enforced by the FTC after an interagency agreement is published. The disclosure requirement begins 12 months after that agreement is published.
No publicly available information on costs, federal budget impacts, or other expenses is provided in the bill text. The bill assigns enforcement to the FTC and calls for an interagency agreement with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Agriculture, but it does not list budget figures or estimated costs.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.