A certification program has been developed for manufacturers of the American flag.
The toughest measures have been taken by lawmakers in Minnesota. According to a law that will come into force at the end of this year, only American-made stars-and-stripes flags can be sold and bought in this state. The new law does not specify what the penalty for violation will be. However, it is known that in Minnesota, for any actions violating the law, the guilty party faces a fine of $1,000 or imprisonment for 90 days. So this penalty will also apply to violators of the ban on the use of the national flag made outside the United States.
Arizona did not go that far, but only required public schools and colleges to display in classrooms and lecture halls US flags made only on American territory starting in July. Similar bills are being considered in a number of other states, particularly in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Most major domestic flag manufacturers are private companies that do not publish data on their turnover, so it is difficult to measure the extent of expansion by foreign manufacturers. According to the US Bureau of Statistics, in 2006, US flags worth $5.3 million were imported into the United States, mainly from China. This figure has been stable over the past several years, except for 2001, when, on a wave of patriotic enthusiasm caused by the September 11 attacks, 51.7 million flags were imported. The head of the American Flag Manufacturers Association, Sandy Van Lewy, stated that flag imports are a cause for concern even though American companies still dominate the domestic flag production market. To help consumers identify the origin of the flag, the association created a certification program two years ago, which includes a list of documents for developing technical specifications<\/a> and applying a logo to such a product indicating that it was made in the United States.<\/p>