Country of origin labeling issues can be exceedingly complex,
as we have noted before. Several manufacturers have recently
paid multi-million dollar settlements for alleged misstatements
about their products' country of origin, under the Trade
Agreements Act (TAA) and False Claims Act (FCA). As described by
Reed Smith attorneys
Larry Sher,
Larry Block and
Jeffrey Orenstein in "
Medical Device Companies Face Severe FCA Penalties for TAA
Violations," the TAA requires that entities selling
certain products to the U.S. government be responsible for
identifying the products' country of origin and ensuring that
it is either the United States or one of the designated countries
with which the United States has special trade agreements. Falsely
certifying products as being TAA-compliant can result in sizeable
civil and criminal penalties for entities under the FCA, and can
attract attention both from purported whistleblowers and the
Department of Justice.
To read the client alert, click
here.
This article is presented for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.
