Online shoppers get origin labels; retailers must disclose where products come from
S. 294 — COOL Online Act · Filed by Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jan 29, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires online retailers to display the country of origin and the seller's location for all foreign-made products sold on the internet, with enforcement by the FTC. Retailers can rely on information provided by manufacturers or distributors, and small sellers (under $20,000 annual sales) and used goods are exempt.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to mandate disclosure of product origin and seller location on internet marketplaces, a straightforward consumer-protection and transparency measure with no hidden mechanisms or narrow beneficiaries.
What the text implies
- Enforcement depends on FTC resources and prioritization; underfunded FTC may struggle to monitor millions of online listings, reducing practical impact.
- Safe harbor for retailers relying on third-party information may create incentive for manufacturers to provide false origin data, shifting liability risk upstream.
- Exemption for sellers under $20,000 annual sales may create loophole for small-scale foreign sellers to avoid disclosure by staying below threshold.
- No explicit penalty amounts specified; enforcement effectiveness depends on FTC rulemaking and case-by-case prosecution.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill increases transparency for online shoppers, allowing consumers to make informed purchasing decisions about product origin and seller location. The exemptions for small sellers, used goods, and agricultural/food products are reasonable, and the safe harbor for retailers relying on third-party information reduces compliance burden without eliminating accountability.
Named in the bill
Federal Trade Commission (FTC), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Agriculture, Online retailers and marketplaces, Manufacturers and importers
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Jan 29, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jan 29, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
3 lobbying clients named this bill on 3 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $4,970,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 20 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.
Tammy Baldwin, the sponsor, reported $195,336 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Amazon.com Services LLC — $4,360,000 on 1 filing
- Ebay Inc. — $580,000 on 1 filing
- Dr. Browns Company — $30,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (6,149 characters) on Aug 14, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Online shoppers get origin labels; retailers must disclose where products come from” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s294 Report an error
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