This is my very first post and I hope that I ask the right questions on this forum, if I offend anybody it was never meant to be... I am starting a high end quality rods built here in the USA in so cal , our focus is to compete with the chinese or overseas market that flooded us with inexpensive rods that driven the trade market way down...hard times in a tough market i do realize overcoming a sagging economy is our obstacle. Here is the dilemma that I found. Most rod components and blanks are made overseas making it tough to make a quality rod at competitive prices. So here are my questions...how much foreign materials can be used to label your products MADE IN USA....most domestic car manufacture still use USA Assembly or parts made thereof .....,but most steel comes from Canada electronics from japan then assembled in Mexico..is it wrong to say my blanks are domestic made using other components that are foreign then putting stickers on my rods proudly made in USA? Please help me with this I value all answers".....Mark Natino

[en.wikipedia.org]

Legal requirements
U.S. content must be disclosed on automobiles and textile, wool, and fur products. No law requires most other products sold in the U.S. to be marked or labeled Made in USA or have any other disclosure about their amount of U.S. content. However, manufacturers and marketers and Persons who choose to make claims about the amount of U.S. content in their products must comply with the FTC’s Made in USA policy.

A Made in USA claim can be expressed (for example, "American-made") or implied. In identifying implied claims, the Commission focuses on the overall impression of the advertising, label, or promotional material. Depending on the context, U.S. symbols or geographic references (for example, U.S. flags, outlines of U.S. maps, or references to U.S. locations of headquarters or factories) may convey a claim of U.S. origin either by themselves, or in conjunction with other phrases or images.

In 1996 the FTC [1] proposed that the requirement be stated as:

It will not be considered a deceptive practice for a marketer to make an unqualified U.S. origin claim if, at the time it makes the claim, the marketer possesses and relies upon competent and reliable evidence that: (1) U.S. manufacturing costs constitute 75% of the total manufacturing costs for the product; and (2) the product was last substantially transformed in the United States.
However, this was just a proposal and never became part of the final guidelines which were published in the Federal Register [2] in 1997.

Assembled in USA
A product that includes foreign components may be called "Assembled in USA" without qualification when its principal assembly takes place in the U.S. and the assembly is substantial. For the "assembly" claim to be valid, the product’s "last substantial transformation" also should have occurred in the U.S. That’s why a "screwdriver" assembly in the U.S. of foreign components into a final product at the end of the manufacturing process doesn’t usually qualify for the "Assembled in USA" claim.

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Here is a link to the FTC site that explains the standard.

[business.ftc.gov]

I hear what your saying Mark. However, in this new global economy "made in XXXX" doesn't quite have the significance good or bad as it once did. No longer is "made in Japan" and bad term and "made in the USA" is not as clear as it once was either.
As you say, many many things are built using parts and materials from overseas and elsewhere around the globe and assembled at least in part on other continents too. Is this a bad thing? Sometimes yes and sometimes no. I would say that it all depends on many factors and that debate will rage for some time I'm affraid.

As to your specific question. I would say that if you designed and constructed, ie: "manufactured" (as the IRS sees it), a product here in the USA then "Made in the USA" certainly applies even if you used parts & materials which originated elsewhere.

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

I am going to play the devil's advocate.

I agree with Raymond in that "Made In USA" does not have the same stigma it once had. I find some people that limit themselves to only "made in USA" products are not allowing themselves to get the best of whatever product they purchase. I am sure that many many things made here are better than things made in other countries. I would not buy a product based solely on a"made in USA" and especially a fishing rod. I say that as I am familiar with the different components used in making rods as well as the process. I think one would be hard pressed to make a rod that is without some of the components being imported and still come close to the quality and value of a rod made with imported parts. Now I wish that all of the best stuff was made here, but that is just not the case.

I think you will have to show and prove you are making a better product. If you can do that , then having the "Made in USA" label should enhance your sales with a certain crowd.

There are several models of autos badged and marketed by "big three" U.S. automakers which are assembled in Mexico using less than 30% U.S./Canadian parts, one as low as 2%.
Don't worry too much about country of origin. Foreign investors own a controlling interest in many so-called U.S. corporations, while U.S. investors have a big part in the ownership and development of foreign corporations. It's about maximizing profits, not nationalism.

Sadly it's becoming more 'Made on Earth' than anything else.

to give an example i just bought a new car..i bought a Hyundai santa fe...i found it to be the best value for the money in what i wanted...it is a korean vehicle made in Montgomery Alabama..it has a standard 5 yr bumper to bumper warranty and 5yr roadside service..i extended that to 10yr bumper to bumper and 10yr roadside service...my last 5 vehicles have been Fords. r American made vehicles don't even come close to matching that...even if the car is a lemon I am covered...that level of service and value is what "Made in USA" used to represent..i find it interesting that other countries are now beating us at the game we started..i am sorry this went off topic and if Tom deletes it i understand

I prefer the words 'crafted in ...'. On my rods i put Crafted in Memphis TN.
Materials are sourced from wherever and for many reasons. Skills to put them together in that particular manner, alter them as required and for that purpose is the crafting part.

Hand Crafted - sounds Cooler

Bill - willierods.com

Mark, I'm in a similair situation and I'm sticking to my guns with all USA made blank. Does it matter?? Look at the replys! Some feel it's important and some don't! I feel that it is and it must be to you or you wouldn't be asking! Made in the USA might not mean as much now as it once did but only to the ones not buying made in the USA.
If were talking about buying Glass or Graphite for blanks. Look New Balance sneakers "made in USA' but of foreign materials.If your talking about Components like Fuji or Amtak.. You have very few USA made choices and the factory builts from the US manufactuers still say made in the USA.

Check a newer post [rodbuilding.org]

Bill - willierods.com

Most of the rod blanks I build on are made in the USA. On those rods I put a label that says "Handcrafted in the USA" because even though the rod blanks are made here, some of the other components are not. I don't want folks to think that every single component on that rod is made here. The idea is to point out that my rods are built here, by hand, with good quality components.

David Dosser
Coshocton, OH