Metric Conversion Act
The Metric Conversion Act is a law of the US Congress that came into effect on December 23, 1975 with the signature of US President Gerald Ford .
According to the will of the legislature, the metric system is to become the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce . However, the further use of units of measure and weight customary in the United States (“voluntary conversion to the metric system”) was expressly permitted . Large export-oriented companies such as General Motors , Ford , IBM or Caterpillar were among the first to switch to the metric system, but most companies and citizens were reluctant to modernize.
The law created the "United States Metric Board". Representatives from science, technology, and educational institutions, as well as state and local administrations, served on the board. His job should be to plan and coordinate measures to get Americans used to the metric system. The body existed briefly from 1978 to September 30, 1982. US President Ronald Reagan dissolved the institution for reasons of economy. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is now charged with following up the tasks assigned to the body.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cornelius Wandmacher, A. Ivan Johnson: Metric Units in Engineering: Going SI . ASCE Press, New York 1995, ISBN 0-7844-0070-9 , pp. 300 (English, 334 p., Limited preview in Google book search).
- ↑ US Metric Association: History of the United States Metric Board ( Memento of August 10, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) (English), accessed on February 15, 2011