美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Administration Delays Most Tariffs On Steel, Aluminum

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

The White House is postponing¹ most of its steel and aluminum² tariffs⁴ for at least another month. Tariffs were due to kick on - to kick in on a number of countries at midnight tonight. They're part of a broader effort to crack down on what President Trump⁵ calls unfair trade practices. But now the temporary waivers that some countries were issued will continue for another month. For more, we're joined by NPR White House correspondent Scott Horsley. Hey there, Scott.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE⁶: Good evening, Audie.

CORNISH: So what have you learned from the White House?

HORSLEY: They have decided⁷ to hold off for now, and that means we will not be seeing new tariffs kick in, most importantly on Canada. That's the biggest source of foreign steel and aluminum here in the U.S. But we're also not going to see tariffs kicking in on Mexico, Australia, Argentina, Brazil or the EU.

The White House says they've reached an agreement in principle with Australia, Argentina and Brazil and hopes to finalize⁸ that within a month so those countries would not have to be subject to steel aluminum tariffs at all. In the meantime, the White House is also continuing negotiations⁹ with Canada, Mexico and the EU. So for now, those countries are getting a continued reprieve¹⁰ as well.

CORNISH: In the meantime, there are some countries that are actually still subject to the tariffs, right? I mean, somebody's got to fall under this list.

HORSLEY: That's right. China is still subject to these tariffs. China is not a big supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States, but it is thought to be really responsible for the global glut¹¹ in those products that's driven down prices. Russia is still subject to the tariffs, and Japan is still subject.

Now, Japan is a relatively¹² significant supplier of steel to the U.S., and of course it's an American ally. But Japan was never given one of those temporary waivers like those other countries, so customers of Japanese steel and aluminum have been seeing a tariff³ - 25 percent on steel, 10 percent on aluminum - since late March. That was a source of some friction¹³ when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was down in Florida meeting with President Trump two weeks ago.

Also, South Korea has been given a permanent exemption¹⁴ from the steel tariffs as part of a renegotiated free trade agreement. In exchange, though, South Korea had to agree to cut its steel exports to the U.S. by about 30 percent. And the White House says it's looking to impose similar quotas¹⁵ on some of these other countries.

CORNISH: I know member countries of the EU were very sort of upset about these tariffs. What does this extension mean?

HORSLEY: It basically preserves the status quo. So that means there is not going to be any additional disruption for steel and aluminum customers in this country come midnight. And it also means there's not going to be any immediate¹⁶ retaliation¹⁷ from other countries that might have been hit by these tariffs.

As you mention, the EU in particular has promised to push back hard if it is eventually subjected to tariffs on steel and aluminum exports, and it's suggested it could target politically sensitive products. Those include, say, Harley-Davidson motorcycles made in the home state of House Speaker Paul Ryan and Kentucky bourbon, which could catch the attention of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. All of those threats of retaliation remain on hold for now.

CORNISH: To take a step back, how does this all fit into the broader trade policy of the Trump administration?

HORSLEY: Well, President Trump campaigned hard as sort of a hawkish¹⁸ person on trade deficits¹⁹. He feels like the United States has been taken advantage of for a long time. And so we're beginning to see those trade policies actually take effect.

Earlier this year, the administration imposed tariffs on imported washing machines and solar panels, and they are weighing really big tariffs on a whole wide range of Chinese products. That's partly in response to things like the glut of steel and aluminum produced in China, but it's also in response to what the U.S. sees as unfair handling of intellectual property by China forcing, for example, American companies to transfer their technological²⁰ know-how²¹ as a cost of doing business in that country. In fact, there's a delegation²² of U.S. officials on their way to Beijing later this week for trade talks with China.

Of course the U.S. is also trying to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico. So there's a lot going on in the trade picture. And, you know, economists²³ say all of these tough-on-trade moves by the White House could backfire. If these tariffs ever do go into effect, what it would do is raise prices for U.S. companies and consumers. And of course there's the threat of sparking a broader trade war.

CORNISH: That's NPR's White House correspondent Scott Horsley. Scott, thank you.

HORSLEY: Good to be with you, Audie.

1 postponing   

v.延期，推迟( postpone的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He tried to gain time by postponing his decision. 他想以迟迟不作决定的手段来争取时间。 来自辞典例句
• I don't hold with the idea of postponing further discussion of the matter. 我不赞成推迟进一步讨论这件事的想法。 来自辞典例句

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

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 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

10 reprieve   

n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解

参考例句：

• He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.最后一刻的缓刑令把他从绞架上解救了下来。
• The railway line, due for closure, has been granted a six-month reprieve.本应停运的铁路线获准多运行6 个月。

11 glut   

n.存货过多，供过于求；v.狼吞虎咽

参考例句：

• The glut of coffee led to a sharp drop in prices.咖啡供过于求道致价格急剧下跌。
• There's a glut of agricultural products in Western Europe.西欧的农产品供过于求。

12 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

13 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

14 exemption   

n.豁免，免税额，免除

参考例句：

• You may be able to apply for exemption from local taxes.你可能符合资格申请免除地方税。
• These goods are subject to exemption from tax.这些货物可以免税。

15 quotas   

（正式限定的）定量( quota的名词复数 )； 定额； 指标； 摊派

参考例句：

• In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
• Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。

16 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

17 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 hawkish   

adj. 鹰派的, 强硬派的

参考例句：

• My staff's advice that first day was amazingly hawkish. 在第一天，我的僚属们的意见是令人吃惊的鹰派意见。
• Antiwar groups fear Barack Obama may create hawkish Cabinet. 反战团体担心巴拉克·奥巴马可以创建强硬派内阁。

19 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

20 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

21 know-how   

n.知识；技术；诀窍

参考例句：

• He hasn't got the know-how to run a farm.他没有经营农场的专业知识。
• I don't have much know-how about engines.发动机方面的技术知识我知之甚少。

22 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

23 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》