日本打算重启TPP

 　　Japan is ready to relaunch the Trans-Pacific Partnership¹ minus the US in a shift of position that could bring the huge trade deal back from the dead.

　　日本准备在美国缺席的情况下重启《跨太平洋伙伴关系协定》(Trans-Pacific Partnership，简称TPP)，这一立场转变有望让这个巨大的贸易协定起死回生。

　　According to trade officials, Tokyo is ready to proceed without much change to the existing TPP text. Previously², it had been reluctant to expose Japanese farmers to a surge of agricultural imports without offsetting³ ease of access to the US car market.

　　据贸易官员们介绍，东京已准备好推进这一协定，而不对现有TPP文本作大量更改。此前，日本不愿意在得不到美国汽车市场更便利准入的情况下，让日本农民受到农产品进口激增的影响。

　　The decision could be a huge boon⁴ to non-US food exporters such as Australia and could shift the dynamics⁵ for trade deals in Asia by offering an alternative to the China-centred Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

　　这个决定对澳大利亚等非美国食品出口国来说可能是一个巨大利好，并可能改变亚洲贸易协定的格局，提供一个替代以中国为中心的区域全面经济伙伴关系协定(Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership，简称RCEP)的选择。

　　“We will start talks on an 11-member TPP, minus the US, at the [Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation] meeting in May,” said Taro⁶ Aso, Japan’s finance minister, at a recent event in New York. Steven Ciobo, Australia’s trade minister, visited Japan a week ago to discuss a revived TPP.

　　“在没有美国的情况下，我们将在5月份的（亚太经合组织）会议上，就11个成员国的TPP开始谈判，”日本财务大臣麻生太郎(Taro Aso)日前在纽约举行的一个活动上表示。澳大利亚贸易部长史蒂文?乔博(Steven Ciobo)一周前访问了日本，讨论重启TPP事宜。

　　One of Donald Trump’s first acts as US president was to withdraw from the unratified TPP deal. That left Japan as the largest remaining economy. The other 10 members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

　　唐纳德?特朗普(Donald Trump)就任美国总统后的首批行动之一，就是退出尚未获得国会批准的TPP协定。这使得日本成为该协定中的最大经济体。其他10个成员国是澳大利亚、文莱、加拿大、智利、马来西亚、墨西哥、新西兰、秘鲁、新加坡和越南。

　　Australia wanted to go ahead regardless, but Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, said TPP was “meaningless” without the US, reflecting the loss of a big market for Japan’s industrial products.

　　澳大利亚早就希望继续推进，但日本首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)当时表示，TPP在没有美国的情况下是“无意义的”，此言反映出日本的工业产品将失去一个大市场。

　　However, several factors have caused Tokyo to rethink. First, says Kenichi Kawasaki, senior fellow at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, is the realisation that TPP offers economic benefits even without the US — and Japan needs them.

　　不过，有几个因素促使东京方面重新思考。据东京的政策研究大学院大学(GRIPS)高级研究员川崎研一(Kenichi Kawasaki)介绍，首先是日方意识到，即使没有美国，TPP也能带来经济效益——而日本需要这些效益。

　　“We cannot expect economic revitalisation without any free-trade agreements,” says Mr Kawasaki. Most of Japan’s putative⁷ gains from tariff⁸ reduction were due to the US, he says, but those from non-tariff barriers mainly relate to Asian trading partners.

　　“若没有任何自由贸易协定，我们就不能指望重振经济，”川崎说。他表示，对日本来说，来自关税减免的大部分推定收益涉及美国，但是来自非关税壁垒消除的推定收益主要涉及亚洲贸易伙伴。

　　?“若没有任何自由贸易协定，我们就不能指望重振经济，”川崎说。他表示，对日本来说，来自关税减免的大部分推定收益涉及美国，但是来自非关税壁垒消除的推定收益主要涉及亚洲贸易伙伴。

　　There is also a geopolitical aspect: TPP will cement Japan’s relations with important regional partners such as Australia and Vietnam. Furthermore, it will keep alive TPP’s tough rules in areas such as intellectual property and government procurement⁹. This will create pressure for higher standards in the RCEP deal, which covers a different set of Asian countries including Japan, China, Indonesia and the Philippines.

　　还有一个地缘政治层面：TPP将巩固日本与澳大利亚和越南等重要地区合作伙伴的关系。而且此举将保住TPP在知识产权和政府采购等领域确立的严格规则。这将形成压力，要求RCEP协定也达到更高标准，后者覆盖一组不同的亚洲国家，包括日本、中国、印度尼西亚和菲律宾。

　　When Mike Pence, the US vice-president, visited Tokyo last week he declared: “The TPP is a thing of the past for the United States of America.” Despite that, Tokyo remains¹⁰ keen to lure¹¹ the US back.

　　美国副总统迈克?彭斯(Mike Pence)上周访问东京时宣告：“TPP对美国来说已经是过去的事情了。”尽管如此，东京方面依然热衷于把美国拉回来。

　　“The US may lose from TPP11 [a TPP without the US] because of trade diversion effects,” said Mr Kawasaki. Australian beef and Chilean wine, for example, will be better placed in the Japanese market than their US competitors.

　　“由于贸易转移的影响，美国可能会因TPP11（美国缺席的TPP）吃亏，”川崎表示。例如，澳大利亚牛肉和智利葡萄酒在日本市场可能比美国竞争对手处于更有利地位。

1 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。

2 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

3 offsetting   

n.偏置法v.抵消( offset的现在分词 )；补偿；（为了比较的目的而）把…并列（或并置）；为（管道等）装支管

参考例句：

• Dealers, having concluded a forward contract, should always hedge with an offsetting contract. 外汇经营商在签订了一项远期合同之后总是应进行套头交易签订一项相抵合同。 来自辞典例句
• Where does Germany think offsetting shifts into greater external deficits might occur? 在德国看来，这么大的外部赤字应该转移到哪里？ 来自互联网

4 boon   

n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠

参考例句：

• A car is a real boon when you live in the country.在郊外居住，有辆汽车确实极为方便。
• These machines have proved a real boon to disabled people.事实证明这些机器让残疾人受益匪浅。

5 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

6 taro   

n.芋，芋头

参考例句：

• Main grain crop has taro,corn,banana to wait.主要粮食作物有芋头、玉米、芭蕉等。
• You celebrate your birthday with taro,red bean and butter.用红豆、芋头和黄油给自己过生日。

7 putative   

adj.假定的

参考例句：

• There have been many attempts to track down the putative Loch Ness monster.人们为追踪假定存在的尼斯湖水怪做了许多努力。
• He is the putative father of this child.他是这孩子的推定的父亲。

8 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。

9 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。