VOA慢速英语2018--英国寻求与伊朗继续贸易的途径

Britain Seeks Ways to Continue Trading with Iran

British media say government officials have been turning to Japan for help in avoiding American sanctions on Iran.

Britain is asking the United States for permission to be exempted² from some of the measures. British officials are said to be especially interested in having strong banking³ ties with Iran and imports of Iranian oil.

A few weeks ago, the U.S. government re-established restrictions⁴ on trade with Iran. Those sanctions had been suspended under a 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers. But the government is now enforcing them after President Donald Trump⁵ withdrew the U.S. from the agreement.

Media reports say British officials have been asking Japanese officials how they were able to avoid parts of earlier sanctions against Iran. In the past, Japan was able to continue signing oil deals with Iran, as well as other business agreements, without honoring U.S. sanctions.

The latest U.S. sanctions punish any foreign company that deals with Iran. They bar those companies from doing business in America. That threat has already persuaded more than 50 Western businesses to suspend their operations in Iran. The companies include French automakers Renault and Peugeot, the French oil company Total, Germany’s Deutsche Bahn railway business and Deutsche Telekom.

British ministers have said they hope to secure exemptions⁶ from sanctions for oil imports, banking and insurance policies for oil transport ships. British officials have expressed concern, however, about the position of a gas field about 386 kilometers from Aberdeen. It is owned together by BP and an agency of Iran’s state-controlled oil company.

Britain’s Foreign Office has released a statement on the reported talks with Japanese officials. It says diplomats⁷ are working with European and other partners to guarantee that Iran continues to benefit from an easing of sanctions. The statement adds that Iran must keep meeting its promises under the nuclear deal.

Not afraid of America

On Tuesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was questioned in parliament by the country’s lawmakers. They asked him about the effect of the U.S. sanctions on Iran’s weakening economy.

Rouhani said that Iran would succeed against “the anti-Iranian officials in the White House.” He added: “We are not afraid of America or the economic problems.”

His answers failed to ease the concerns of lawmakers, who voted to reject most of them. A few weeks ago, parliament impeached⁸ Iran’s economy and labor⁹ ministers because of the growing anger about the economy.

Keeping links

To keep open financial links with Iran, the European Union has taken steps to fight the U.S. sanctions, including barring EU citizens and businesses from obeying them.

The European Commission added to a blocking requirement on August 7. The measure bans companies from following the sanctions unless permitted to do so by the EU leadership in Brussels. This would enable EU businesses to recover damages resulting from the sanctions. But many companies say they fear losing current or future business in the United States.

“Under these conditions it is very difficult,” noted¹⁰ Louisa Santos, the Director for International Relations at BusinessEurope. She says even small and medium-sized businesses that do not trade with the U.S. will face problems because they will need financing from Western banks.

The first in a series of U.S. sanctions on Iran officially took effect earlier this month. They block any business deals with Iran involving dollars, gold, precious metals, aluminum¹¹, steel, commercial passenger aircraft, shipping¹² and Iranian seaports¹³. Even stronger sanctions will take effect on November 4 as the U.S. government seeks to damage the Iranian economy.

In early August, Woody Johnson, the U.S. Ambassador to Britain, warned of effects on trade with Britain, which he described as the closest U.S. ally. He urged Britain to break with the EU and follow the re-imposed sanctions on Iran.

I’m Lucija Millonig.

Words in This Story

benefit - n. a good or helpful result or effect?

exempt¹ - adj. not required to do something that others are required to do?

mpeach - v. to charge (a public official) with a crime done while in office?

insurance - n. an agreement in which a person makes regular payments to a company and the company promises to pay money if the person is injured or dies, or to pay money equal to the value of something (such as a house or car) if it is damaged, lost, or stolen?

re-impose - v. impose (something, especially a law or regulation) again after a lapse¹⁴.?

sanction - v. an action that is taken or an order that is given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country, by not allowing economic aid for that country, etc

1 exempt   

adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者

参考例句：

• These goods are exempt from customs duties.这些货物免征关税。
• He is exempt from punishment about this thing.关于此事对他已免于处分。

2 exempted   

使免除[豁免]( exempt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His bad eyesight exempted him from military service. 他因视力不好而免服兵役。
• Her illness exempted her from the examination. 她因病而免试。

3 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 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。

6 exemptions   

n.（义务等的）免除( exemption的名词复数 )；免（税）；（收入中的）免税额

参考例句：

• The exemptions for interpretive rules, policy statements, and procedural rules have just been discussed. 有关解释性规则、政策说明和程序规则的免责我们刚刚讨论过。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• A: The regulation outlines specific exemptions for some WPM. 答：该规定概述了某些木质包装材料的特定的例外情形。 来自互联网

7 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 impeached   

v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的过去式和过去分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议

参考例句：

• Elected officials can be impeached. 经过选举产生的官员可以被弹劾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The judge was impeached for taking a bribe. 这个法官被检举接受贿赂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 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。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

12 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

13 seaports   

n.海港( seaport的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Airports have joined seaports as ports of entry for the visiting foreigner. 机场和海港一样成为来访的外国人的入境关口。 来自互联网
• Sanya has 16 seaports, 10 islands and 180km of coastline. 三亚有16个港口、10个海岛和180公里的海岸线。 来自互联网

14 lapse   

n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效

参考例句：

• The incident was being seen as a serious security lapse.这一事故被看作是一次严重的安全疏忽。
• I had a lapse of memory.我记错了。