The Price Marking Order 2004From what I have gathered over time about the situation as it pertains to the so-called "Metric Directive", metric units are mandatory (i.e. in price labeling and quantity indication), the legal unit (metric) must appear first, and any supplementary indication may be no more prominent than the primary (metric) indication.
I wonder how many US products with US Customary appearing first in the labeling are sold in the UK, which would appear to be a violation of the directive. (The fact that volume indications in USC are different from Imperial would be irrelevant since the floozie indication has no legal standing anyway!) It appears that there have been no test cases on what counts as "more prominent". I am also told that it is common, especially for market traders, to give the Imperial first or larger or in red letters. In other words, the law would seem to be widely flouted with little or no enforcement. Also, as I undersand it, advertising is not covered by the UK Regulations (unless a price is indicated), nor are product descriptions. So, in those areas, anything goes. Given all of this, it seems that the "Metric Directive" has not really been properly enforced in the UK (via appropriate regulations and enforcement thereof). Worse, it doesn't look to me like that will change any time soon unless a new government comes into power with a real commitment to metrication. Ezra
