Going well beyond labeling, the metric directive will make the sole use of metric units obligatory in all aspects of life in the European Union, extending to areas such as product literature and advertising.
It is not known at this time what impact this directive will have on tire sizing designations, which are a combination of metric and imperial measures.
When the directive goes into force, it will end a long-standing practice in the European trade community of allowing manufacturers flexibility in how they label their products.
When implemented, the metric directive will also create a standards inconsistency with U.S. law, as the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act will still require the labels of many consumer products to include both metric and U.S. customary units. As of today, all but four states have changed their legislation to allow the use of metric only, but the federal legislation preventing it remains firmly in place.
Many companies on both sides of the Atlantic who make consumer products will have to create separate labels: one for the U.S. market, including both metric and imperial units; and another for the EU market, displaying only metric units, thus imposing additional costs on many businesses engaged in transatlantic trade.
The global nature of the marketplace means that this directive could have a considerable impact on both U.S. and European companies. The conflicting legal requirements will force both U.S. and EU manufacturers to use two sets of labels.
This incompatibility of the FPLA and the EU Metric Directive will impose additional costs on many businesses engaged in trans-Atlantic trade in consumer goods by creating the need for separate packaging, labeling, warehousing and inventory systems.
The current postponement is considered to be the transition period, and the legislation is already in place in the EU Member States to allow the metric directive to take effect when this last deadline expires. There will not be a delay in implementation.
When the directive becomes effective, it will become effective in all member states at that time. Enforcement will be the responsibility of the member states, and the level of enforcement will likely vary from member state to member state.
Unless the metric directive is amended or the implementation date is extended again, leaving U.S. customary units on a box or label will be illegal in the EU as of Jan. 1, 2010. None of the EU member states will permit dual indications of measurement. This will apply to labels, packaging, advertising, catalogs, technical manuals and user instructions.
