MadeInUSA.com Debunks Misleading Beliefs About Product Origin

As interest in American manufacturing continues to rise, a widely shared myth is steering well-meaning consumers in the wrong direction: the belief that a product’s barcode can confirm whether it was made in the USA. MadeInUSA.com, the nation's premier marketplace for verified American-made products, is correcting the record.

Most products in the U.S. carry UPC barcodes issued by GS1, a global nonprofit. The first digits of these codes—known as the prefix—indicate where the barcode was registered, not where the product was made, assembled, or shipped from.

Some international sellers exploit this confusion. On platforms such as AliExpress, foreign-made products often carry barcodes registered in the United States, creating the illusion of domestic origin. “It creates a false sense of patriotism,” Buckner explained. “Buyers see a U.S. prefix and assume the product is American-made, when in reality it may have been produced entirely overseas.”

At the same time, many U.S.-manufactured products—particularly from private-label or multinational brands—use barcodes registered in other countries for logistical reasons, despite being made in the USA. This contradiction highlights the unreliability of barcode numbers for determining origin.

The only dependable indicator of origin is the product’s country-of-origin label—regulated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). To carry a “Made in USA” label, a product must be “all or virtually all” made in the United States, including sourcing, labor, and final assembly.