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 DC to advocate for American-made U.S.A. Flags, small business and it’s workforce.
The message to lawmakers on Capitol Hill:
“Our domestic U.S. Flag Industry is being decimated & American consumers are being deceived.”
Twenty-one members of N.I.F.D.A. (The National Independent Flag Dealers Association), representing thirteen family businesses traveled to Washington DC 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 increase, putting the domestic American Flag industry at risk of extinction.
This delegation of passionate flagmakers (who represent 90% of the domestic American Flag industry) 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 our 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).
AMERICAN CONSUMERS ARE VICTIMS OF FRAUD
Consumers are being deceived by Amazon & 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, however, falsely advertised as American-made.
CCP-funded entities (Manufacturers, Sellers & Marketplaces in China) are breaking our United States Laws by selling Counterfeit knock-off “American” Flags via Online Marketplaces (such as Amazon, Temu, Sheean, Walmart, eBay, Facebook, Google; social media sponsored ads, & more). Most of the imported USA flags sold online originate from one of four factories in China. These Communist entities are committing international trade crimes.
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.”
- Kim Glas, President & CEO of NCTO (National Council of Textile Organizations)
Chinese-made AMERICAN FLAGS ARE FLYING IN UPSTATE NEW YORK
More than 75% of the U.S.A. flags received for retirement (& delivered to Saratoga National Cemetery) 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 NY 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. And they are in even more shocked when they discover the ads online are not truthful.
Industry surveys indicate Americans want American-made USA Flags, period.
When given the choice of a Chinese-made USA Flag for less money over a bonafide American-made USA Flag, consumers ALWAYS Choose American-made. The Chinese-made US Flags would not sell if the consumer really understood what they were purchasing.
OUR DOMESTIC AMERICAN FLAGMAKERS FEAR FOR THE FUTURE
American Manufacturers, 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 US 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 & operated.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) needs to start enforcing current U.S. Laws (Labeling Country of Origin, Truth in Advertising, etc) immediately. Without Federal Government intervention our 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. The future is bleak without government intervention.
“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–" – Kim Glas, President & CEO of NCTO
THE TIME FOR ACTION IS NOW..... Call On Congress to Support
THE MAKE AMERICAN FLAGS IN AMERICA ACT, H.R. 4137
During the forced lock-downs of 2020, when numerous US Flag Manufacturers were deemed "Not Essential" by State Governors and told to stop making USA Flags; Saratoga Flag Company took action & called on Congress.
Representative Elise Stefanik was informed of the threats to our U.S. Flag, as experienced locally in New York’s 21st Congressional District, in addition to the reports coming in from the flag industry nation-wide.
Stefanik listened attentively and took action, introducing THE MAKE AMERICAN FLAGS IN AMERICA ACT on July 5, 2022 and then reintroduced the bipartisan & bicameral bill again on June 14, 2023 with more than 35 co-sponsors.
“The American flag is an enduring symbol that represents the freedoms we enjoy as Americans and a way to show our patriotism. American flags displayed and procured by the federal government must be completely made in the USA,” stated Stefanik. “Several small businesses across America, including in Upstate New York and the North Country, share their American pride by making and selling flags. I am proud to support their important work and ensure American flags used by the federal government are completely made in the USA!”
“This commonsense bill both honors Old Glory and the many American small businesses that supply our homes and storefronts with these flags, and I’m proud to sponsor it,” said Congressman Mike Johnson. “I look forward to its consideration and speedy passage.”
Read Congresswoman Stefanik's 2023 Press Release for H.R. 4137 Here:
https://stefanik.house.gov/2023/6/stefanik-landsman-johnson-balderson-and-senator-cruz-introduce-make-american-flags-in-america-act-on-flag-day
During National Flag week 2024, our delegation of Flagmakers met with Congresswoman Stefanik’s Legislative Team on Capitol Hill, to discuss, at length, the urgency of action needed by the Federal Government to immediately stop the flood of counterfeit American Flags imported to the USA. Most of these U.S. flags are illegally advertised and labeled as American-made, when in fact, they are Made in China.
The Make American Flags in America Act of 2023, (H.R. 4137), is a bipartisan and bicameral bill, requiring American flags displayed on federal property &/or procured by federal agencies to be manufactured completely in the United States from American materials.
This legislation also requires the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a study on the enforcement and violations of country-of-origin labeling requirements for American flags sold in the U.S. to ensure integrity of American-made products for consumers.
The Make American Flags in America Act is proudly endorsed by The National Independent Flag Dealers Association and The Flag Manufacturers Association of America.
H.R. 4137, currently sits in the Energy & Commerce Committee, awaiting mark-up, with hopes of passage by the end of the year, 2024.
You can help Save the Domestic U.S. flag Industry:
Call your U.S. Senator and Representative in Congress to show your support for American-made USA flags. Find your Representatives: Here.
Click HERE to Watch Saratoga Flag's Grass Roots Video Promoting H.R. 4137.
=====
=======
Visit SaratogaFlag.com, online or in-person, to purchase a Genuine, Authentic American-made U.S.A. Flag today!
###
