Scott, Baldwin ask FTC to investigate Amazon, Walmart AI over ‘Made in USA’ fraud detection

Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fl.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) sent a letter Thursday to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Commissioner Mark Meador surrounding alleged anticompetitive practices by Walmart and Amazon regarding “ Made in the USA ” products.

“We write to request that [the FTC] investigate alleged anticompetitive practices by Amazon and Walmart involving suppression of Made in the USA products when customers use their AI shopping chatbots,” the letter reads. “As well the companies’ apparent failure to report products fraudulently labeled Made in the USA.”

“As two of the largest retail companies in the world, Amazon and Walmart’s potential noncompliance with federal standards and their explicit promotion of overseas and potentially fraudulent sellers on their online marketplaces and through their AI shopping chatbots is deeply concerning,” the lawmakers continued.

They cited a study from researchers Erie Meyer and Zachary Harris at Columbia Law School that found Amazon and Walmart “have the technical capability to detect and flag ‘Made in USA’ fraud” but “the companies choose not to police this fraud—and in many cases allow these deceptive claims to persist.”

“Following a robust investigation, we strongly encourage the Commission to consider additional enforcement measures to deter such behavior going forward,” Baldwin and Scott wrote.

The senators added that they believed “consumers who seek out Made in the USA products should be able to rely on accurate country-of-origin information when making purchasing decisions.”

“New technologies such as AI shopping chatbots must preserve that fairness,” Scott and Baldwin wrote.

The bipartisan effort by the lawmakers follows similar FTC action this year that have targeted companies fraudulently using the “Made in USA” label.

President Trump has supported these efforts through a March executive order that cracked down on false claims of American-made products advertised on the digital marketplace or by foreign manufacturers and sellers.

The agency has already prosecuted fraud claims under this executive order against TouchTunes Music Company, Americana Liberty, Three Nations and Oak Street Manufacturing Company in April.

“No more games. No more fake labels. No more ripping off the American Taxpayer. AMERICA FIRST means BUY AMERICAN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social in May.

In his announcement about the executive order, he also pushed to prioritize the use of products manufactured, developed and produced in the United States.

The FTC’s Office of Public Affairs confirmed to The Hill that the agency received the letter from the senators but declined to comment.