By Dean Seal

The Federal Trade Commission has fined Kubota's North American business $2 million for allegedly mislabeling some of its replacement parts as being "Made in USA."

The agency said on Friday that since 2021, Kubota North America has falsely labeled thousands of replacement parts for its tractors and other equipment as being produced in the U.S. when they were actually made entirely overseas.

After the maker of tractors and agricultural equipment moved manufacturing for some parts to other countries it failed to update the products' labeling to reflect the change, according to the FTC's complaint.

Without admitting or denying the allegations, Kubota North America has agreed to pay a penalty and to be barred from making deceptive claims.

A spokesperson for Kubota didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The FTC said this is the largest settlement it has ever netted in a "Made in USA" case and that it previously sued Kubota in 1999 for similar alleged conduct. Kubota had been the subject of an FTC order related to that case until it expired in 2019

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-26-24 1213ET