As tariffs continue to drop and become less of an issue for our clients, our work on standards, conformity assessment, regulatory and compliance issues becomes even more critical to the success of many of our customers in an increasing number of countries throughout the world. You will find Information on standards at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at http://www.nist.gov.

Metric Directive

Beginning January 1, 2010, the European Union Council "Metric Directive" 80/181/EEC will prohibit the use of any other than metric units for most products sold in the European Union (EU). Going well beyond labeling, the Metric Directive will make the exclusive use of metric units obligatory in all aspects of life in the European Union, extending to areas such as product literature and advertising.

American exporters and companies doing business in Europe should be aware that unless the Metric Directive is amended or the implementation date is extended, as of 2010 it will be illegal to leave U.S. customary units on a box or label in the EU.

This will apply to labels, packaging, advertising, catalogs, technical manuals, and user instructions and end a longstanding practice in the European trade community of allowing manufacturers flexibility in how they label their products. However, there is a chance the legislation may be amended, depending on the outcome of a consultation on the EU Metric Directive just issued at the end of December which seeks public comment on the Metric Directive.

For more information, including our market research report and contact information, please visit our U.S. Commercial Service at the US Mission to the EU website: http://www.buyusa.gov/europeanunion.