As I expected, there was a snafu between the JEITA press release on timing of
lead free, and the expectations of the organizations which met for the lead
free roadmap.  Here is the very prompt response out this morning from NEMI.
Interestingly, this states that Jim Arnold was representing IPC and NEMI at
the meetings.  I suppose we will get all sides of the story in the next few
days.  If you are a NEMI member, you should get a copy of the press points
that Jim refers to.
Here is the NEMI announcement (Despite the confidential label, I am
publishing this since I sent LeadFree the original JEITA release)

Denny Fritz
MacDermid.
*******************************
December 18, 2002

ALERT BULLETIN
JEITA Press Release
(NEMI Confidential)

Background:

  On November 19, Jim Arnold, NEMI Director of Roadmapping, participated in
  the second lead-free world summit meeting in Japan representing NEMI and
  IPC.  This session was hosted by JEITA.  As one of the outcomes of that
  session, JEITA was attempting to write a press release that all
  participants would agree to.

Issue:

  While we were in the process of modifying the release to make it more
  acceptable to NEMI and IPC members, JEITA unilaterally sent out the
  information in a form that we did not agree to.   Areas of conflict
  included commitment to dates and statements regarding the risks of lead
  to the environment.

Actions Taken/Planned:

  1.  A letter of protest has been sent to Mr. Katsumi Yamamoto, JEITA
  Chairman of the standardization Committee on Electronics and Chief
  Standardization Officer at Sony.
  2.   This alert is being sent to NEMI membership.
  3.   While we don't intend to put out a rebuttal in a press release
  (since that will call even more attention to the areas of disagreement),
  we are putting together a set of points to be made when the press
  contacts us.  These points will cover differences between release and
  NEMI position.
  4.   We will monitor the press activity and then determine if any further
  action or statements are required.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------

Jim McElroy
National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative, Inc.
Voice - South: 703-834-2082; North: 603-539-7722
Fax - South: 703-834-2735; North: 603-539-8383
Email - [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Web site - www.nemi.org <http://www.nemi.org>
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