货币之争可能扰乱贸易谈判

货币之争可能扰乱贸易谈判

Protesters from U.S. trade unions and other free-trade skeptics say some nations manipulate the value of their currencies to give their exports an unfair price advantage on world markets,hurting American workers.

美国工会和其他自由贸易怀疑论的抗议者们表示一些国家操纵本国货币使得自己的出口在世界市场上占据不公平的价格优势,此举大大伤及美国工人利益。

Senator Chuck Schumer says Washington must do more to protect American workers.

参议员查克·舒默表示,华盛顿必须采取更多措施保护美国工人阶层的利益。

"We should shrug¹ our shoulders.It's estimated that millions of jobs have gone away.”

“我们应该无所谓地耸耸肩。据称数以百万计的工作岗位已就这样与我们失之交臂。”

A cheap currency can be a big advantage for exporting countries, according to Carnegie Mellon University economics professor Lee Branstetter.He spoke² via skype.

卡内基梅隆大学经济学教授李·布朗斯特尔表示廉价货币对出口国家也是一大优势。他通过skype表达自己的看法。

"It is making their goods artificially cheap and our goods artificially expensive.It is as if they were subsidizing their exports and applying tariffs³ to our imports."

“这人为上造成他们的商品价格占尽优势,而相比我们的商品价格更为昂贵。就好像他们补贴自己出口然后加到了我们的进口关税部分。”

Branstetter said nations can change the value of their own currencies by printing money and using it to buy U.S. currency and government securities. More demand for U.S. dollars raises their price. Less demand for the other nation's currency makes that currency cheaper.

布朗斯特尔发表示国家可以通过印刷钞票及购买本国货币和政府证券改变货币的价值。对美元的需求水涨船高就会增加其价值。而其他国家的货币需求减少就会使得那个国家的货币更为便宜。

Worried about manufacturing jobs, some members of Congress say new trade deals must stop currency manipulation.But Branstetter said such regulations also could hamper⁴ U.S. economic policies, like the Federal Reserve's ultra-low interest rates, which may have had the unintended effect of pushing down the value of the dollar.

对制造业工作岗位问题深感担忧的一些国会议员表示新的贸易协定必须制止汇率操纵。但布朗斯特尔表示这样的规定同样也会阻碍如美国联邦储备理事会超低利率等的美国经济政策, 可能造成意想不到降低美元的价值的效果。

Some experts say adding currency manipulation provisions to the Trans-Pacific Partnership⁵ now, when the deal is nearly complete, could kill the agreement.

一些专家认为将操纵汇率条款添加进现在的跨太平洋战略经济伙伴关系协议中,当它接近完成时,可以置此协议于死地。

Undersecretary of State Catherine Novelli said failing to reach a deal could hurt U.S. workers.

副国务卿凯瑟琳·诺威利表示未能达成协议可能会伤及美国工人的利益。

"If we don't get the deal done, rules can be put in place that are not going to be fair and the bar can be set very low,and that can really impede⁶ our ability to export things that our workers and our farmers are producing."

“如果我们的协议不能完成,规章制度实施后就不会突显公平,而且杠杆会设置得极低,这真的会阻碍我们的工人和农民辛勤劳作的出口能力。”

The currency issue is one of several to be worked out before Washington can sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement with 11 other Pacific nations, and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union. A separate agreement, called Trade Promotion⁷ Authority, is pending⁸ in Congress. Under TPA, Congress can accept or reject trade agreements, but cannot amend⁹ or delay them.

华盛顿方面同其他11个太平洋国家签署跨太平洋战略经济伙伴关系协议及同欧盟跨大西洋贸易投资伙伴关系协议前，汇率问题是亟待解决的问题之一。而一项名为贸易促进授权单独的协议依旧在国会悬而未决。在TPA国会可以接受或拒绝贸易协定,但不能修改或延迟。

 

While issues remain, the head of the Senate committee that deals with trade issues, Utah Republican Orrin Hatch, said new, trade-friendly Republican majorities in both houses of Congress make it more likely that the deals will eventually win approval.

尽管问题仍然存在,应对贸易问题的参议院委员会负责人,犹他州共和党人奥林·哈奇表示国会两院新的贸易友好的多数共和党人会使得协议有可能最终获得通过。

1 shrug   

v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等)

参考例句：

• With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩，走出了房间。
• I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 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。

4 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

5 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

6 impede   

v.妨碍，阻碍，阻止

参考例句：

• One shouldn't impede other's progress.一个人不应该妨碍他人进步。
• The muddy roads impede our journey.我们的旅游被泥泞的道路阻挠了。

7 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

8 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

9 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。