Agricultural Equipment Manufacturer to Pay Civil Penalties and Stop Marketing Imported Parts as Made in USA

The Justice Department, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), announced that Kubota North America Corp. (Kubota) has agreed to a settlement that requires it to pay a civil penalty and cease making misleading claims about the origins of its products.

In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the government alleges that Kubota violated the FTC Act and the Made in USA Rule by falsely marketing foreign-manufactured replacement parts as made in the United States. These false labels affected thousands of replacement parts.

The stipulated order will enjoin Kubota from making country-of-origin claims about any of their products unless the claims satisfy certain requirements, and from making any unsubstantiated representations about their products. The consent decree imposes a $2 million civil penalty.

“The Justice Department is committed to stopping companies from making misleading and fraudulent claims to market their products,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to work with the FTC to enforce the FTC Act against those using unfair and deceptive marketing to sell products as purportedly made in the United States, when, in fact, those products are made elsewhere.”

“Today’s settlement includes the largest civil penalty assessed for violating the Made in USA Labeling Rule,” said Director Samuel Levine of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC will continue cracking down on deceptive Made in USA claims that cheat consumers and honest businesses.”

This matter is being handled by Trial Attorney Sean Saper and Assistant Director Lisa Hsiao of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, along with Julia Ensor of the FTC’s Division of Enforcement. The branch thanks the U.S. Attorney’s Office for its assistance in the matter.

For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the FTC, visit www.FTC.gov.

*This release has been updated to reflect the correct headline.