2019年经济学人 美-墨-加协议(2)

 

Enforcement has been beefed up. Improvements to NAFTA's dispute-settlement system are

执法力度得到了加强。NAFTA的纠纷解决体系的改进

"probably the most important thing in the whole treaty", says Jesus Seade, Mexico's chief negotiator.

“可能是整个协议中最重要的部分”，墨西哥主要谈判代表施雅德表示。

Under NAFTA, countries could block the appointment of arbiters¹ to hear awkward disputes. This should no longer be possible.

根据NAFTA，成员国可以阻止任命仲裁人员来处理棘手的争端。这将不再可能。

The shared vision of the Trump² administration and Democratic lawmakers is clearest when it comes to labour standards.

当涉及劳工标准时，特朗普总统和民主党议员的共同愿景非常明确。

The aim was to make it less attractive to move jobs from America to Mexico

其目标就是通过支持墨西哥工人就业权，

than had been the case under NAFTA by supporting Mexican workers' employment rights.

将工作岗位从美国迁移至墨西哥的吸引力降至NAFTA时期以下。

But in the first version of the USMCA, the AFL-CIO complained,

但在第一版USMCA中，AFL-CIO抱怨称，

the bar for proving a breach³ of the rules was too high and enforcement mechanisms⁴ were too onerous⁵.

证明违反规则的门槛太高，执行机制太过繁琐。

Critics pointed⁶ to the only labour complaint ever to make it as far as a formal dispute as part of an American trade deal:

批评人士指出了迄今为止唯一一起将其作为正式争端纳入美国贸易协定的劳工申诉：

a case against Guatemala in which arbiters agreed that the rules had been broken,

在一起针对危地马拉的案件中，仲裁人员一致认为规则已经被打破，

but not that any harm to trade or investment had been demonstrated.

但并没有对已有贸易或投资造成任何损害。

The new deal shifts the burden of proof regarding such harm. To avoid penalties, defendants⁷ will have to show that it did not happen.

新协议取消了关于这种损害的举证责任。为了避免处罚，被告必须证明没有发生。

Moreover, accusations⁸ that manufacturers are breaking Mexican laws covering freedom of association

此外，有关制造商违反墨西哥有关结社自由和集体谈判法律的指控，

and collective bargaining will be sent for speedy consideration to panels of "independent labour experts".

将迅速提交至“独立劳工专家”小组审议。

Rule-breaking will lead to penalties on exports. Overall, the revised labour provisions are good for Mexico,

违规将导致对出口的惩罚。施雅德表示，总的来说，修订后的劳工条款对墨西哥有利，

Mr Seade says, and will reinforce its government's own labour reforms.

这将加强墨西哥政府自身的劳工改革。

The revised USMCA will restrict trade a bit more than NAFTA did. It will probably not live up to the hype.

修订后的USMCA将比NAFTA更严格地限制贸易。它可能不会达到宣传的效果。

Even if greater use of collective bargaining raises Mexican wages,

即便更多的集体谈判可以提高墨西哥工资水平，

the USMCA's official impact assessment⁹ suggests that American wages would rise by just 0.27% in response.

但USMCA的官方影响评估显示，美国工资水平只会上涨0.27%。

But for Mr Trump, his Democratic foes¹⁰ and their neighbours in Mexico, it counts as a win.

但对特朗普、他的民主对手以及他们在墨西哥的邻居而言，这算是一场胜利。

1 arbiters   

仲裁人，裁决者( arbiter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In the forensicfield, the final arbiters of quality are the courts. 在法医学领域，质量的最后仲裁者是法庭。
• They are, increasingly, arbiters of which types of borrowers get credit. 它们正越来越多地充当决定哪几种借款人可获得信贷的裁决人角色。

2 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。

3 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

4 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 onerous   

adj.繁重的

参考例句：

• My household duties were not particularly onerous.我的家务活并不繁重。
• This obligation sometimes proves onerous.这一义务有时被证明是艰巨的。

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

8 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

9 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

10 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。