Every article of foreign origin imported into the United States must be marked with the English name of its country of origin, legibly and in a conspicuous place, unless the law provides an exception. For goods you sell on Amazon in the form you imported them, the retail customer is the “ultimate purchaser” who must be able to read that mark. Under 19 U.S.C. 1304, goods that arrive unmarked and are not marked, exported, or destroyed under CBP supervision before the entry liquidates owe an extra 10 percent ad valorem duty (statute text read 2026-10-11). ...

Short answer for Amazon FBA: Amazon lets you register as an individual with no registered business, and none of the three documents is issued by Amazon; each one answers to a different authority. Amazon’s registration guide states: “You don’t need to be an LLC or registered business, or be otherwise incorporated, to sell in the Amazon store” (Amazon Seller registration guide, checked 2026-10-11). A business license is a question for your state, county and city; an EIN is a question for the IRS; a resale certificate is a question for the state tax agency and your suppliers. ...

Short answer: Amazon will not be the importer of record for your FBA inventory. Its own help page says Amazon “will not act as an IOR, consignee, or partner government agency (PGA) agent for any shipment, regardless of the size, value, origin, destination, or product” (Seller Central help, checked 2026-10-11). That role falls to you or an entity you appoint. If you book Amazon Global Logistics, Amazon requires that importer of record to hold a continuous CBP customs bond. CBP’s bond guide leaves some entry types out of the continuous bond calculation, including informal entries under $2,500 (section 6.4.1.2). Under CBP’s February 2024 bond guide, the minimum continuous import bond is $50,000 or 10% of the duties, taxes and fees you paid in the previous 12 months, whichever is greater (checked 2026-10-11). ...

Under the IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (revised 12/2026, data checked 2026-10-10), an Amazon seller generally files Form 1099-NEC for a payment that meets four conditions: it went to someone who is not your employee, it was for services in the course of your business, the payee is an individual, partnership, estate, or in some cases a corporation, and you paid that payee at least $2,000 during the year. The $2,000 floor applies “for tax years beginning after 2025.” Form 1099-NEC is due to the IRS and to the payee by January 31. ...

Under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA), a household cleaner, paint, solvent, or other hazardous substance must carry a label with a signal word (DANGER, WARNING, or CAUTION), a statement of the principal hazard, the hazardous ingredient’s name, precautionary measures, first-aid instructions when needed, “Keep out of the reach of children” or its practical equivalent, and the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, distributor, or seller. CPSC’s rule at 16 CFR 1500.121 then sets where those statements go and how large they must print; 16 CFR 1500.14 adds fixed wording for listed products such as methanol, turpentine, antifreeze, charcoal, fireworks, and art materials. ...

Under the FTC’s Energy Labeling Rule (16 CFR Part 305), a website that sells a covered appliance must show, for each model, a legible image of its EnergyGuide or Lighting Facts label, placed clearly and conspicuously near the price. Covered plumbing products such as showerheads, faucets, and toilets need a water-use disclosure instead, and certain fluorescent lamps, ballasts, and metal halide fixtures need a circled capital “E.” The rule names manufacturers, private labelers, distributors, and retailers as the parties who can be responsible. ...

The CPSC clothing flammability standard, 16 CFR Part 1610, applies to clothing and to textiles intended for clothing sold in the US, and sorts fabrics into three classes: Class 1 and Class 2 may be used in clothing, Class 3 may not. Hats, short gloves, footwear and interlinings are outside the standard. Plain surface fabrics weighing 2.6 ounces per square yard or more, and plain or raised surface fabrics of any weight made entirely from acrylic, modacrylic, nylon, olefin, polyester or wool, or a combination of only those fibers, are exempt from the testing requirement, not from the standard itself. ...

If you email customers from your own brand list, the CAN-SPAM Act requires every marketing email to carry accurate header information, a subject line that matches the content, a clear statement that it is an ad, a valid physical postal address, and a working opt-out that you honor within 10 business days. Messages whose content is purely transactional or relationship (an order confirmation, a recall notice, a delivery of something already bought) are exempt from most of those rules, but they still may not contain false or misleading routing information. ...

Under the FTC’s Guides Against Deceptive Pricing (16 CFR Part 233), a “was/now” price holds up only if the “was” price is one you actually offered openly, in good faith, for a reasonably substantial period of time. A “compare at” or list price holds up only if substantial sales really happen at that price in your trade area. A price raised just so it can be “cut,” a trivial reduction, or a “free” item paid for by a higher main price are the patterns the Guides call deceptive. ...

The TM vs registered trademark symbol question on an Amazon listing has a short answer: you may put “TM” next to your brand on packaging, images, or product copy at any time, with or without a filing, but you may use ® only after the USPTO has registered the mark, and only for the goods listed in that registration. A pending application does not unlock ®. Using a brand already gives you common-law rights, limited to the area where you trade; federal registration makes them nationwide and adds the legal tools that matter once you enroll in Brand Registry. ...

Reese’s Law requires any US consumer product that contains or is designed to use a button cell or coin battery to meet the product safety standard ANSI/UL 4200A, and it requires retail packages of those batteries to carry a set warning label. The rule is 16 CFR Part 1263, and it covers products whether the battery is built in, replaceable, included, or sold separately. Two dates apply to different things: October 23, 2023 is the effective date for the product requirement, and September 21, 2024 is the cutoff for battery packaging labels (packages manufactured or imported after that date must comply). ...

FDA food allergen labeling requirements apply to most packaged foods sold in the US, including food sold on Amazon: if a product contains one of the nine major food allergens, the label must name the food source of that allergen. FDA’s Food Allergies page lists them in one sentence: “The major food allergens are milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame.” There are exactly two ways to make the declaration — a parenthetical after the ingredient name, or a “Contains” statement next to the ingredient list — and dietary supplements are covered, not exempt (FDA page content current as of 03/11/2026, data checked 2026-10-09). ...