Courtesy of the National Independent Flag Dealers Association
Saratoga Flag Company spent National Flag Week leading an ad-hoc, grass-roots, bi-partisan group of volunteers from the domestic U.S. Flag industry to Washington, D.C., to advocate for American-made U.S.A. flags.
The National Independent Flag Dealers Association, representing 13 family businesses traveled to Washington, D.C., from all corners of the country, seeking swift solutions to the rise of threats created by imported Chinese-made U.S.A. flags flooding the online marketplace at an alarming pace, putting the domestic American flag industry at risk.
This delegation of flagmakers walked hundreds of miles, knocking on more than 100 doors of lawmakers in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. The mission was to bring awareness to the industry projections of factory closures if the federal government does not act immediately to address the imminent threats to the domestic workforce responsible for keeping Old Glory American-made.
Senators and Congressmen were asked to support and co-sponsor The Make American Flags in America Act (H.R. 4137 in the House & S.2001 in the Senate).
According to a recent press release, consumers are being deceived by Amazon and its sellers, in addition to other online marketplaces. In a recent product search on Amazon, for American-made USA flags, only two out of 100 product listings were legitimately made in the USA. The other 98 listings for USA flags were made in China, yet falsely advertised as American-made.
CCP-funded entities) are breaking our laws by selling knock-off American flags via online marketplaces. Most of the imported USA flags sold online originate from one of four factories in China.
The online marketplace has created an arena where many U.S. consumers are deceived and fall victim to the illegal tactics of foreign manufacturers selling and distributing counterfeit American flags of inferior quality online.
Most of these online purchases are bypassing any U.S. tariffs and customs inspections due to a U.S. government loophole known as “De minimis.” The National Council of Textile Organizations is actively lobbying the federal government to close this tax loophole in order to save numerous American-made industries.
The de minimis loophole, which allows imports valued under $800 to come into the United States without paying duties and taxes, bypassing inspections by U.S. Customs and providing a backdoor to Chinese goods produced with forced labor. The loophole has not only fueled the rise of imports from foreign e-commerce companies and mass distributors, but it has also put our domestic manufacturers and workers at a competitive disadvantage.
According to Kim Glas, president & CEO of NCTO (National Council of Textile Organizations, “Over 75 percent of the U.S.A. flags we receive for retirement are made in China. This is an alarming number for our region and the percentage has more than doubled in just the past year. It indicates to us that the upstate New York market is being flooded with imported American flags.
U.S. flag dealers across the country are reporting similar spikes of Chinese-made USA flags in circulation, illustrating how the industry is now at a critical stage of decline and in crisis.
Most consumers are completely unaware that the flags they purchased elsewhere, typically online, are made in China.
When given the choice of a Chinese-made USA flag for less money over a bona fide American-made USA flag, consumers choose American-made.
American manufacturers, some with as many as six generations in business, are frightened that their legacy will end abruptly in 2024, due to the unfair playing field created by the economic advantages handed to Chinese companies selling illegally advertised and labeled U.S. flags on Amazon & other online marketplaces.
The domestic flag industry is requesting immediate help and intervention from the federal government to save our American flag, its workers and the industry’s businesses, most of which are family-owned and operated.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) needs to start enforcing current U.S. laws immediately. Without federal government intervention many American factories are destined to close.
The National Council of Textile Organizations, a trade association advocating for the domestic textile industry, reports that 18 textile factories have already closed this year.
“China’s unchecked predatory trade practices, coupled with a lack of customs enforcement and misguided trade policy proposals, have created an unstable market dynamic threatening the future of U.S. textile manufacturing” said Glas.