According to the London Telegraph, among those to be hardest hit by the European Union's decision to make it illegal as of the close of the decade for any import or export to bear any reference to non-metric units of measurements, whether in labeling, manuals, or catalogues, will be the electrical and electronics industries in the United States, which will be forced to spend millions setting up separate inventories and warehousing systems for products destined for Europe. Among those expressing their opposition to the measure is the National Electrical Manufacturers Association. Critics note that the requirement runs afoul of the U.S. Fair Trade and Packaging Act pertaining to products consumed in the United States, which allow use of metric units only as long as they are accompanied by a non-metric equivalent Americans can easily understand.       EC