As some of you may recall, the Metric Directive which requires metric only marking in Europe beginning Jan , 2000 (S.I. units cannot appear in documents or product, ie no dual marking such as 2.54 cm (1 in.), here is an update with reference to sources:
>From : at NIST Jim McCracken Metric Program >The European Commission's technical staff recently proposed that the >implementation of metric measures only be delayed until 2010. This >requires >political action and review by the EU Parliament, the Member State's >legislative bodies and a ruling by the European Commission. This may >take >until 1999 AND may only pass if the U.S. makes commitments to focus on >its >metric conversion so that the problem doesn't reappear in 2008. and from Conformity newsletter (Mar 98): >Truth In Labeling May Reach Absurd Proportions >A meeting in Brussels last November between officials of the European >Union (EU) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) may >portend the absurd lengths to which manufacturers and government >officials are willing to go to ensure compliance with EU Directives. >That metric measurements be used on products sold throughout the EU. >Under subsequent EU legislation, manufacturers have been allowed to >use supplemental, non-metric units of measurement on their packaging, >which presumably allows them to produce a single label for products >shipped world-wide. However, the EU provision allowing for >supplemental units of measurement reportedly expires on >December 31, 1999. >Apparently, a number of American manufacturers are expressing concern >about their ability to comply with the "metric-only" requirements by >that date. During the Brussels meeting, ANSI officials reportedly >requested that EU officials extend indefinitely the allowance for >supplemental, non-metric units of measurement on product packaging, >arguing that "labeling requirements for units of measurement must not >create barriers to trade" (our emphasis). >One reported solution coming from reliable sources would be to add the >phrase "References to non SI-units (i.e. non-metric units) are >obsolete" to labels bearing dual units of measurement. eric [email protected]
