The key word is "official". If you read what I
said, I stated that they never did. But practically, they have
converted. Visitors to these countries have consistently reported that
anything new is metric anything old and ancient is not. If you want to
state that they never officially changed, that is fine. But you also need
to inform those who would interpret this to mean they are still 100 % FFU that
such an assumption is not in step with reality.
From the CIA Handbook on Burma:
|
Exports: |
$2.7 billion f.o.b. (2002) |
|
Exports - commodities: |
gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice |
|
Exports - partners: |
Thailand 31.4%, US 13%, India 7.4%, China 4.7% (2002) |
|
Imports: |
$2.5 billion f.o.b. (2002) |
|
Imports - commodities: |
machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, crude oil; food products |
|
Imports - partners: |
China 27%, Singapore 19.5%, Thailand 12%, Malaysia 9.1%, Taiwan 6.3%, South Korea 5.3%, Japan 4.3% (2002) |
Notice that all of the countries that Burma trades
with are officially metric. The products listed as being the
commodities of import/export would be metric also
From the CIA handbook for Liberia:
|
Exports - commodities: |
rubber, timber, iron, diamonds, cocoa, coffee |
|
Exports - partners: |
Germany 54.8%, Poland 8.9%, France 8.5%, China 4.9%, Italy 4.5%, US 4.2% (2002) |
|
Imports: |
$165 million f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
|
Imports - commodities: |
fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods; foodstuffs |
|
Imports - partners: |
South Korea 30.3%, Japan 19.1%, Germany 15.6%, France 9.1%, Singapore 7.9% (2002) |
The US is listed as an export partner, but my hunch is
that 4.2 % is in raw materials and I can bet they are sold and priced in metric
units.
By the fact that both of these countries trade heavily
with metric countries tells me they are in fact metric. None of there
trading partners are going to make special products for these two basket
cases in FFU.
I hope this is proof enough for you.
Euric
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gavin Young" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Big Chimp" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Sunday, 2004-03-07 15:51
Subject: Re: [USMA:29044] Allowing metric only labeling on
USA consumer products - letter to Ralph Nader
> and pro-metric sites and what I considered to be the most reliable sites all
> said that Myanma (Burma is the old name) and Liberia are not officially using
> metric.
>
> The USMA website at http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/internat.htm says the
> following:
>
> "According to a survey taken several years ago, the only other countries that
> have not officially adopted the metric system are Liberia (in western Africa)
> and Myanmar (also known as Burma, in southeast Asia). These two countries did
> not have an official policy of converting to metric, at least at the time of
> the survey."
>
> I did not find any updated information about Myanma and Liberia on the USMA
> website.
>
> Quoting Big Chimp <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
>
> > Gavin,
> >
> > Burma and Liberia are not FFU using countries. That is old news. These
> > countries have never officially metricated, due to political instability.
> > But have metricated due to their neighbours being metric and all trade is
> > done in metric. Those machines that are still imperial are those left over
> > from by-gone years. Nothing new is imperial.
> >
> > The US is the only country not completely metric. And despite not trying,
> > the US is 40 % metric, due to a large amount of imports of metric products
> > and those US companies that have to use metric because the market is metric.
> >
> > Euric
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Gavin Young" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > Sent: Monday, 2004-03-01 15:36
> > Subject: [USMA:29044] Allowing metric only labeling on USA consumer
> > products - letter to Ralph Nader
> >
> >
> > > Here is a copy of a letter I sent to Ralph Nader on 2004/02/28 regarding
> > allow
> > > metric only labeling. If you want to send the same letter to Ralph Nader
> > or
> > > others, feel free to do so.
> > >
> > > The USA should speed its conversion to metric for a number of reasons and
> > > information about those reasons may be found at my website at
> > > http://www.xprt.net/~hightech/metric.htm Of particular importance is the
> > need
> > > to ammend the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA) to allow Metric-Only
> > > Labeling by businesses who desire such for their products. There are many
> > USA
> > > businesses, especially ones where exports are a huge portion of their
> > business,
> > > who wish to discontinue mentioning the old fashioned (including US
> > Customary
> > > Units) on their labels. In 10 years the EU will no longer allow imports to
> > > contain the imperial units (including US Customary Units) on the labels,
> > even
> > > if the labels also indicate the metric units. Allowing USA businesses to
> > use
> > > only metric units on their packages will make it easier for businesses to
> > > adjust when all of their exports to the EU require such labels.
> > >
> > > All USA schools (to my knowledge) have been teaching metric to their
> > students
> > > for decades now and thus most people in the USA should be familiar with
> > metric.
> > > However most people in the USA have not had much opportunity outside of
> > school
> > > to make use of metric (except when they buy liters of soda pop and a few
> > other
> > > consumer goods). Allowing metric only labeling on all consumer goods would
> > make
> > > it easier for USA citizens to retain their knowledge of metric and ease
> > the USA
> > > transistion to metric. I believe that many members of the U.S. Metric
> > > Association ( http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/ ) and even many
> > businesses
> > > would likely support Ralph Nader for President if Ralph Nader campaigned
> > on
> > > urging ammending the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA) to allow
> > Metric-
> > > Only Labeling. Some fans of metric had even planned on voting for Howard
> > Dean
> > > because Howard Dean made a comment saying he is a fan of metric.
> > >
> > > Gavin Young
> > > http://www.xprt.net/~hightech , http://www.renewableelectricity.com,
> > > http://www.electric-automobile.com
> > >
> > >
> >
>
>
> Gavin Young
> http://www.xprt.net/~hightech , http://www.renewableelectricity.com,
> http://www.electric-automobile.com
>
