In a rare bi-partisan congressional effort, Congress passed the “All American Flag Act" requiring American flags purchased by the government to be entirely Made in America. The Act passed unanimously through the United States Senate and House of Representatives.
The Act requires that all the materials in government-purchased American Flags and all manufacturing be done right here in America. Existing rules require only that half of the materials be from the United States and none of the manufacturing.
“The American flag serves as a symbol of our identity, resolve, and values as one people. To honor its significance, the federal government should only use flags entirely manufactured in the United States,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), one of the bill's sponsors, said in a statement.
The most recent data available shows that the value of US imports of American flags was $4 million and exports just $781,000. The majority of that $4 million went to China.
In 2017, approximately 10 million American flags were imported, with 99.5% of them coming from China. Those figures include all American flags imported into the country and not just those purchased by the federal government.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said that the label on some flags that say ‘Made in America” can be a little tricky. Not all of the materials and labor are required to be from America for a flag to be able to bear that label – just “all or virtually all” according to the FTC.
If you are in the market for an American flag today and want to be sure every part of it is sourced and made by American labor, look for the Flag Manufacturers Association of America label. Their website says, “Every step of the manufacturing process for (our) flags has been completed using domestic materials in US facilities with US labor”.
In a sign that Congress is on track with this effort, the Chinese attacked this bill immediately. Patrick Zheng, a Chinese journalist said on X, “The hysteria among American politicians has reached absurd levels with the passage of the All-American Flag Act. By using the highly nationalistic symbol of the American flag to push a political agenda, they aim to showcase a commitment to reducing dependence on Chinese manufacturing and bringing production back to the U.S. However, this approach defies the logic of globalization.”