• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, Yesterday

The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday urged Amazon and Walmart to police their marketplaces for false "made in America" claims by outside companies.

"Bureau staff have received information that third-party sellers on your online marketplace may be falsely advertising products as being made in the United States," Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC's consumer protection bureau, said in warning letters sent to Amazon and Walmart.

Both letters go on to state that outside retailers have advertised products on Amazon and Walmart as "made in the USA" or "100% USA Made," when the sellers have actually been based outside the country, or the listing says the item is imported.

"I write to bring this matter to your attention so Amazon can monitor, identify, and take corrective action against third-party sellers who make false or misleading 'Made in USA' claims on Amazon's marketplace," Mufarrige said in the letter to Amazon.

The letter to Walmart makes a similar request.

Mufarrige added that the letters don't "reflect any assessment" about whether Amazon or Walmart violated the federal consumer protection law or the FTC's regulations regarding labeling.

A Walmart spokesperson said Tuesday that the company has "zero tolerance for noncompliant products from third-party sellers."

"When we identify non-compliant items, we take action and have these products removed," the spokesperson said.

The FTC on Tuesday also sent warning letters regarding made in America claims to a retailer and three manufacturers.

Commission regulations finalized in 2021 provide that companies can only label products as made in the United States if the "final assembly or processing of the product occurs in the United States, all significant processing that goes into the product occurs in the United States, and all or virtually all ingredients or components of the product are made and sourced in the United States."