Federal Trade Commission
Received Documents
June 28, 1996
P894219
B18354900171


             AMERICAN TEXTILE MANUFACTURERS INSTITUTE




                                   June 27, 1996
Office of the Secretary
Federal Trade Commission
Room 159
Sixth and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580
                                   Re:  "Made in USA Policy 
                                        Comment, FTC File P894219
Dear Mr. Secretary:

This is in response to the Federal Trade Commission's extension of time for filing public
comments regarding the comprehensive review of "Made in USA" claims.  We appreciate the
opportunity to file earlier comments on January 22, 1996, and to be a participant in the public
workshop on this issue held on March 26-27, 1996 in Washington, DC.

ATMI is the national trade association of the domestic textile manufacturing industry.  Member
companies operate in more than 30 states and process approximately 80 percent of all textile
fibers consumed by plants in the United States.  In 1994, the industry employees 673,000 people
and had annual shipments of $74.2 billion.

Though this Federal Register proposal addresses many industrial and consumer products, it is
used to regulate only a few textile products, such as sewing thread, since most textile items are
addressed by rules and regulations under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act (TFPIA).

After reviewing the public record on this issue and attending the March workshop, ATMI is
pleased to reaffirm its support for the present Federal Trade Commission guidelines for evaluating
"Made In USA" claims in product advertising and labeling.  

We reaffirm our belief that the country of origin rules contained under the TFPIA are clear, fair
and accomplish the goal of notifying consumers of the origin of items before purchase and
therefore, all customers have the information needed to make informed purchases based on the
origin of the product.  We believe that the present rules under the TFPIA have served the public
well and should not be the subject, either directly or indirectly, of this rulemaking.

We appreciate the commission's interest in a thorough review of these rules and we encourage it
to reaffirm the existing rules of "Made in USA" claims under the FTC Act.

                                   Sincerely,




                                   Hardy B. Poole
                                   Director, Product Services