[USMA:26197] US Department of Commerce agency to abolish use of lb-oz and pint measures.htm

[Nat Hager III]

Title: Message

Heads up....   Nat   http://www.newswire.ca/releases/June2003/30/c8529.html   Canada NewsWire Give us your message. We'll give you the world. Attention News/Business Editors: US Department of Commerce agency to abolish use of lb/oz and pint measures Metric system to be compulsory for retail transactions A warning from England: Don't Do It! EDINBURGH, Scotland, June 30 /CNW/ - Under US government policy, transition to the metric system is voluntary in the USA. The law requires labeling for most packaged goods to show both US and metric systems so that consumers can choose which system they prefer. However, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency within the US Department of Commerce, is to propose a bill to Congress that will end the use of inch-pound units for packaged goods. Hints of NIST's intention appeared in November 2002 when it held a forum to: "...identify areas of work needed to ensure the effective voluntary transition to the use of metric units in all commercial transactions". To "ensure" something that is "voluntary" is a contradiction in terms! The NIST proposal is now available on the internet. How does it get round US government policy that metric is voluntary? NIST has developed a form of words that describes its proposal as "permissible metric-only labeling", and which appears to offer a choice for business: A. Metric and US customary; or B. Metric IT'S A TRICK! The two labeling obligations proposed by NIST cannot lawfully co-exist. It is impossible for the law to require both systems to be displayed while also stating that only metric need be shown. Accordingly, the only requirement under the NIST proposal is that packaged goods show metric. Producers may print lb/oz/pint equivalents, but such information is surplus to the legal requirement. Decoded, the phrase "permissible metric-only labeling" means compulsory metric labeling, since the word "permissible" actually refers to inch-pound. The NIST proposal, if implemented, will mean the end of US measures as trading units for most packaged goods. It will be legal to describe a carton of milk as "473mL" - but ILLEGAL as "one pint". The upheaval and costs to business will be huge, since systems and processes will have to change to accommodate metric. BRITAIN'S DISASTROUS EXPERIENCE OF METRIC Britain knows all about compulsory metric conversion. Since 2000, metric measures, invented in France in 1790, have been made compulsory by the European Commission. In 2001, trader Steven Thoburn was dubbed the "Metric Martyr" after being convicted and fined for selling bananas in pounds and ounces. Packaged goods are meanwhile "downsized" on conversion from English to metric quantities - with no decrease in price. Surveys show 85% of British people prefers feet and inches, pounds and ounces. The archetype kilogram is stored in a vault near Paris and the USA requires permission from the French government to examine it. Thomas Jefferson said: "If other nations adopt this unit, they must take the word of the French mathematicians for it...So there is an end to it!" If Americans want to defend fair play in the marketplace and freedom to use customary measures then they must wake up to moves now developing to force them to use metric. Visit website http://www.bwmaOnline.com for the following information: - The exact wording of the NIST proposal - American consumers beware - The Great Metric Rip-Off - Is NIST breaking the law? - The story of the English metric martyr traders BWMA is a non-profit body that promotes equality in law between inch- pound and metric units. It enjoys support from across Britain's political spectrum, from all manner of businesses and the general public. -30- For further information: Mr Vivian Linacre, Director, BWMA, 45 Montgomery Street, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH75JX, tel/fax: 001144 (0)131 5566080, For enquiries by email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; For press release authentication, telephone: David Delaney, BWMA Public Relations, 001144 (0) 1568 708820, mobile 07790 000202; or Mike Plumbe, Chairman, 001144 (0) 1424 713737. BRITISH WEIGHTS & MEASURES ASSOCIATION has 3 releases in this database. General Inquiries - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Technical Issues - [EMAIL PROTECTED] © 2002 Canada NewsWire Ltd. All rights reserved.