Founded on 27 December 1916 at Columbia University in New York City, it was originally called the American Metric Association.

The USMA is in cooperative communication with various state and federal governments, both legislative and executive, and various industrial and professional societies, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), many of whom are involved in standards development.

The National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) published a revised model Uniform Packaging and Labeling Regulation (UPLR) which went into effect on January 1, 2001.

Once New York State adopts the UPLR, then goods sold in the US are not subject to federal regulations and laws, and may have their contents labeled solely in metric units if that is the desire of the producer or manufacturer.

This would permit goods sold in the US subject to federal regulations and laws to have their contents labeled solely in metric units if that is the desire of the producer or manufacturer.