A Florida battery manufacturer is the first company to be sanctioned under a rule cracking down on products falsely labeled βMade in the U.S.A.β
Lithionics Battery LLC of Clearwater was ordered to pay more than $105,000 for violating the new Federal Trade Commission rule.
Federal officials said that Lithionics advertised its batteries, modules and systems as βMade in U.S.A.β
But prosecutors alleged that key components of those products β including the batteriesβ lithium-ion cells β were actually imported.
Under the settlement, Lithionics must also file compliance reports with the FTC for more than 10 years and notify affected customers.
Prosecutors said the new enforcement measures are particularly important as the U.S. aims to build up domestic battery manufacturing.
Sam Levine, director of the FTCβs Consumer Protection Bureau, said the new rule will βmake sure this misconduct comes with a price.β