Federal Trade Commission
Received Documents
Sep 18 1995
B18354900324
Secretary

                                        99 Hamilton Avenue
                                        Massapequa, N.Y. 11758
                                        July 22, 1995

Federal Trade Commission
Pennsylvania Ave. & 6th St.
Washington D.C., N.W. 20580

Dear Commissioners,


     I am writing to you concerning an article that appeared in the Toledo, Ohio Blade on July
18, 1995.  The article centered around the efforts of James Davis, President of New Balance
Athletic Shoes to change your current guidelines concerning product labeling, specifically country
of origin.  According to the article you chose to back off the case and instead study consumers
perception of "Made in U.S.A." claims in context of a new global economy.

     I must say that I am very disappointed in your decision not to pursue this case in a timely
matter.  And so are everyone I spoke with.  As Mr. Davis correctly stated, manufacturing is vital
to our nations economy.  He stated "I think that if we don't make the investment to manufacture
in our country, the countries wealth is going to deteriorate... and we're going to be dependent on
the rest of the world for our manufactured goods."

     We heartily agree with his statement.  As educated consumers we want to know if a
product is Made in U.S.A. or if it is merely assembled here and if so what is it's foreign content. 
A product that is fifty or seventy percent domestic content SHOULD NOT be able to claim to be
MADE IN U.S.A..  Whether we are in a global economy or not doesn't give one license to distort
the truth.  My family compares this information before making our purchase in order to assure us
that our dollar is being used to generate the maximum number of American jobs possible.  Such
information should not be withheld from the American citizen.

Sincerely yours,

Michael C. Smith