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marketplace Ensuring equity in commerce  
Woman holding bag of groceries
photo © John Earle

"The supermarket checkout is so much faster now. And I know I'm getting my money's worth."

  

The Founding Fathers knew that a strong economy depends on fair trade, and fair trade requires standards for weights and measures. The U.S. Constitution gives the federal government the power to both “coin money” and “fix the standards of weights and measures.”

In 1905, NIST established the National Conference on Weights and Measures, a group of federal, state, and local officials. The conference works to assure fairness in annual sales of more than $4 trillion worth of goods and services— from deli meats to railroad freight to gasoline.

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Contents:

NIST in Your Supermarket

Getting Your Money's Worth

Everyday Measures before NIST

Fairness in Global Trade
date created:7/10/01
last updated: Apr. 05, 2010
contact: inquiries@nist.gov