2019年经济学人 单独行事 (3)

 

Mr Trump¹'s trade agenda could hardly be more different.

特朗普的贸易议程可能完全不同。

His "America First" rhetoric², threats of tariffs³ on allies and of withdrawal⁴ from the WTO,

他的“美国优先”策略、对盟国施加关税和退出WTO的威胁

and policies of blocking appointments to the WTO's court and using tariffs as a national-security tool,

以及对WTO法庭约定的阻碍以及将关税用作是一种国家安全工具，

are inimical to an even-handed system that all can support.

都对一种所有国家都可以支持的公平体制怀有敌意。

Even if these policies turn out to be temporary, the uncertainty⁵ they cause may be permanent.

即便这些政策是暂时的，它们所引发的不确定性可能是永久性的。

Some of the USMCA's provisions go beyond even those of the TPP, for example its rules on the movement of data across borders.

USMCA中的一些规定远超TPP中的规定，例如，其对跨边界数据移动的规定。

And the USTR's objectives for talks with Japan, published on December 21st, are similar to those in the USMCA.

USTR于12月21日发布的和日本会谈的目标和USMCA中的那些相似。

But the fear is that, having all but abandoned the aim of broad trade liberalisation,

但人们担心除了抛弃广泛贸易自由化的目标，

America may prioritise quick, shallow deals rather than deeper ones that would strengthen global trade governance.

美国或许会给迅速肤浅的协议提供优先权，而怠慢那些能够巩固世界贸易管理的深入协议。

The complex "rules of origin" that feature in preferential deals are also worrying.

那些以特惠协议为特征的复杂的“原产地规则”也令人担忧。

These specify⁶ the minimum share of a product that must originate in the parties to a deal if it is to qualify for reduced duties.

这些协议规定一种产品的最小份额必须产自当事国所达成为协议才有资格享受减征关税。

They thus allow trade negotiators to shape supply chains and manage production.

因此，他们让贸易谈判代表制定供应链并管理生产。

And one study found that compliance⁷ costs amounted to 3-5% of the final product price, offsetting⁸ the deal's benefits.

并且一项研究发现税务执行费用总计为最终产品价格的3-5%，抵消了协议的收益。

The Trump administration has sought to use such rules to reshape car production in North America, tightening⁹ them by several notches¹⁰ in the USMCA.

特朗普政府寻求利用这种规则重新制定北美的汽车生产，通过USMCA中的几个等级加强对他们的控制。

As well as restricting trade, rather than liberalising it, they will make it tricky¹¹ to agree more permissive rules of origin for cars in future trade deals.

和限制贸易一样，他们不会将其自由化，而是让它变得棘手从而无法在以后的汽车贸易协议中实施更加宽松的原产地规则。

It will soon become clear how ambitious America wants to be.

很快就能知道美国有多么的野心勃勃。

A deal with China that limited industrial subsidies¹², long a bugbear of other countries, could yet be baked into the multilateral system.

和中国的一项协议限制了工业补贴，这是长期困扰其他国家的一个难题，而这项协议可能会被纳入多边体制中。

One with Japan could set some useful standards and precedents¹³.

和日本的一项协议可以设立一些有效的标准和判例。

Mr Trump may decide to blow up the multilateral system and impose tariffs on America's allies.

特朗普可能决定要摧毁多边体系并对美国的盟友施加关税。

Even if he does not, success on his terms could cause longlasting damage.

即使他不这么做，成功连任可能会导致持久破坏。

1 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。

2 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

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 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

5 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

6 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。

7 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

8 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

9 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

10 notches   

n.（边缘或表面上的）V型痕迹( notch的名词复数 )；刻痕；水平；等级

参考例句：

• The Indians cut notches on a stick to keep count of numbers. 印第安人在棒上刻V形凹痕用来计数。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They cut notches in the handle of their pistol for each man they shot. 他们每杀一个人就在枪托上刻下一个V形记号。 来自辞典例句

11 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

12 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 precedents   

引用单元； 范例( precedent的名词复数 )； 先前出现的事例； 前例； 先例

参考例句：

• There is no lack of precedents in this connection. 不乏先例。
• He copied after bad precedents. 他仿效恶例。