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Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Brand Hong Kong - Asia world city
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Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

Ref : EIC 230/4

8 March 2000

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 33/00

European Union (EU) : Directive on Units of Measurement

The EU has extended for the second time a 10-year transitional period for implementing metric-only labelling within the European Community.
 

  1. The former Council of the European Communities adopted in December 1979 a directive to harmonize the system of measurement throughout the Community. The directive requires that only the international system of units (the metric system) be used in measuring instruments, measurement and indications of quantity expressed in units of measurement, for economic, public health, public safety and administrative purposes. The directive however does not cover air and sea transport, measures of distance and units of quantity for draught beer in the UK and Ireland. Products bearing labels on quantity are thus affected by the directive.
     
  2. The directive provides a 10-year transitional period during which supplementary indications, i.e. non-metric units of measurement, can be used together with the metric units. The first 10-year transitional period ended on 31 December 1989 but the former Council of the European Communities extended the transitional period for another 10 years to end on 31 December 1999. In view that certain third countries do not accept products marked only in metric units, the Council of the EU has recently decided that the transitional period should further be extended for another 10 years so that the EU companies exporting their products to these markets will not be placed in a disadvantaged position. The transitional period will end on 31 December 2009.

ENQUIRIES

  1. For enquiries about the contents of this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5684.

Yours faithfully,

 

(Miss Helen YUNG)

for Director-General of Trade



Note : While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same.