B R I T I S H

W E I G H T S

&

M E A S U R E S

ASSOCIATION

16 January 1999

From the end of the year European Union law says it will be illegal to use non-metric measures for any economic purposes. However, following protests from consumers, retailers, EU exporters and US companies, the European Commission indicated that there might be a further 10-year delay in enforcing the regulation. With less than a year to go it has failed to confirm this.

For 15 months the UK government has also been promising to clarify the directive on compulsory metrication but it cannot do so until it gets its instructions from Brussels.

It is already too late for many industries to convert their production lines, catalogues and packaging to metric only descriptions. They are running a real risk of breaking the law in the year 2000 which is currently enforced by fines of £5,000 or, in default, six months in prison for each offence.

The European Commission's insistence that metric descriptions must be applied universally has generated new problems for UK suppliers. The EC is concerned that consumers in one country should understand descriptions in all other EU countries and not be confused by local, or technical terms. This ruling appears to outlaw not only imperial measures such as, "quarter pounder" hamburgers and "9 inch" pizzas, but also such descriptions as "A4 sized" paper instead of 210x297mm paper, "medium" size eggs instead of 53-63g eggs, "king" size beds instead of 1.52m, etc.

The British Weights and Measures Association campaigns for choice in measuring systems. It says that metric and imperial weights and measures should be allowed to co-exist side by side. The British Weights & Measures Association calls on the UK government to restore choice and abolish criminal penalties.

For further information CONTACT: Mr Vivian Linacre, BWMA Director