美国国家公共电台 NPR The Trade War's Impact On The U.S. Economy Is Being Debated

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

The Labor¹ Department released its monthly jobs report this morning. Employers added 266,000 jobs last month, which is better than expected and a sign that the U.S. economy continues to power ahead. With that record number of Americans working, it means a lot of people have money to spend. And so far, the holiday shopping season is off to a good start. But there are spots of weakness in the economy, especially in factories and farms. And the president's trade war is still making people nervous. NPR's Scott Horsley has the story.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE²: The stock market got off to a rocky start this week when President Trump³ launched a new round of tariff⁴ threats. But administration loyalists insist concern about the trade war is overblown. In an interview with MORNING EDITION, Stephen Vaughn, former general counsel for the president's trade representative, argued Trump's tariff battles have not sidetracked a strong U.S. economy.

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STEPHEN VAUGHN: Record low unemployment, very - almost no inflation, strong markets and generally strong trade numbers. I think the policies are working very well.

HORSLEY: Unemployment is at a near record low, but the pace of hiring has slowed and so has economic growth. GDP growth in the third quarter barely topped 2%, and it's expected to slow further in the last three months of the year. Manufacturers have been especially hard hit. TV station WNEP reported on one factory layoff⁵ in Pennsylvania.

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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: We begin tonight in Northumberland County, where more than a hundred workers are being let go from their jobs for good.

HORSLEY: Similar job cuts are happening throughout the Midwest. Wisconsin factories lost 7,000 jobs in the first nine months of the year; Michigan - more than 4,000. Pennsylvania suffered the nation's biggest factory losses with 7,400 jobs cut.

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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: HCF industry says it is laying off 148 people at its plant in Milton permanently⁶.

HORSLEY: James Dolan (ph) is one of the workers whose jobs are being eliminated at this Pennsylvania manufacturer of railroad cars.

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JAMES DOLAN: They want everybody out by the end of the year. I feel sorry for the guys in their 50s where they have to find something else.

HORSLEY: Factories, many of which depend on global supply chains and healthy export markets, are particularly vulnerable to the trade war. Services like hospitals and restaurants that cater⁷ to local customers are more insulated, though growth in that sector⁸ is slowing, as well. The other big weak spot is farming, which has suffered a one-two punch of bad weather, which makes it hard to grow crops, and tariffs⁹ that make it hard to sell what you do grow. In the 12 months ending in September, farm bankruptcies¹⁰ jumped 24% to their highest level since 2011.

GREG PITTMAN: There is a general anxiety.

HORSLEY: Greg Pittman is a bankruptcy¹¹ attorney in La Crosse, Wis. That state led the nation in farm bankruptcies. Pittman says it's the tip of the iceberg¹² since farmers usually resort to bankruptcy only after exhausting all other remedies.

PITTMAN: A lot of times, what we're seeing are facing foreclosures, lawsuits¹³. Those are not fun times for anybody, especially farmers. And, you know, they've got a lot on the line.

HORSLEY: To be sure, farmers and factory workers are a small slice of the American workforce¹⁴. Whether you see their troubles as a warning sign for the larger economy may depend on your political perspective. Richard Curtin of the University of Michigan surveys consumers about the economy every month. He says the gap between attitudes of Republicans and Democrats¹⁵ has never been wider.

RICHARD CURTIN: Democrats, as soon as Trump was elected, expected a recession. And they still expect a recession. And Republicans expected robust¹⁶ growth. And they still expect robust growth.

HORSLEY: Almost three years into the Trump presidency¹⁷, Americans still view economic reality through very different partisan¹⁸ lenses. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

5 layoff   

n.临时解雇，操作停止，活动停止期间，失业期

参考例句：

• Finally, prepare an explanation about what led to your layoff.最后，要准备好一套说辞来解释你被解雇的原因。
• Workers were re-employed after the layoff.在暂时解雇不久后工人们又被再度雇用了。

6 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

7 cater   

vi.(for/to)满足，迎合；(for)提供饮食及服务

参考例句：

• I expect he will be able to cater for your particular needs.我预计他能满足你的特殊需要。
• Most schools cater for children of different abilities.大多数学校能够满足具有不同天资的儿童的需要。

8 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

9 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

10 bankruptcies   

n.破产( bankruptcy的名词复数 )；倒闭；彻底失败；（名誉等的）完全丧失

参考例句：

• It's a matter of record that there were ten bankruptcies in the town last year. 去年这个城市有十家破产是事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Business bankruptcies rose 50 percent over the previous year. 破产企业的数量比前一年增加５０％。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

11 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

12 iceberg   

n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人

参考例句：

• The ship hit an iceberg and went under.船撞上一座冰山而沉没了。
• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。

13 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

14 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

15 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

17 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

18 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。