美国国家公共电台 NPR New Round Of Tariffs Takes A Bigger Bite Of Consumers' Budget

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

The price of stuff, lots of stuff, from canoes to floor lamps to bicycles, went up literally¹ overnight - last night, in fact. The Trump² administration raised tariffs⁴ on $200 billion worth of imported Chinese products. The U.S. and China are in trade talks this week; but so far, no deal. NPR's Yuki Noguchi has the story.

YUKI NOGUCHI, BYLINE⁵: Jim Kittle's family furniture business has operated throughout Indiana for nearly nine decades.

JIM KITTLE: It was started by my grandfather, then my father.

NOGUCHI: What kinds of things do you carry on your shop floor?

KITTLE: Bedroom, dining room, living room, occasional tables...

NOGUCHI: Kittle's Furniture will have to reprice new shipments of all kinds of furniture, from nightstands to love seats. The new tariffs increased from 10 to 25%, raising the underlying⁶ cost of Chinese-made items.

What percent of the stuff that you have on the floor would you say is affected⁷ by the tariff³?

KITTLE: I think about 30%.

NOGUCHI: But much of the remaining 70% of goods are also affected.

KITTLE: Much like automobiles⁸, parts of those goods are produced offshore⁹, some in China.

NOGUCHI: Kittle's been through this before. Last September, a 10% tariff took effect. Back then, Kittle and his Chinese suppliers agreed to absorb most of that. The cost to consumers only increased 3%.

This time around, his suppliers can't afford to do that, and neither can Kittle or other retailers¹¹.

KITTLE: The vendor¹² is no longer going to be able to take anymore. The retailer¹⁰ is not going to be able to absorb it because right now, retailers are at best marginally profitable. And furniture is no different.

NOGUCHI: Existing tariffs are already making life more expensive. They've increased consumer costs by $1.4 billion a month, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. To date, tariffs have largely affected raw materials, like chemicals and wooden beams used to make other products. New tariffs will affect a larger number of finished goods - things consumers actually buy, like bicycles.

Katheryn Russ is an economics professor at the University of California at Davis. She says the latest round of tariffs will add another $500 a year in costs for the average American household. And that could grow. President Trump has pledged to broaden tariffs even further to all Chinese imports, including big-ticket items.

KATHERYN RUSS: Once the tariff goes on to cellphones, I mean, then you're really going to see people scream.

NOGUCHI: Determining a sticker price will be a dilemma¹³ for Jim Kittle. How customers will react is not Kittle's only worry. Indiana's main industries include farming and carmakers. Those are dealing¹⁴ with retaliatory¹⁵ tariffs China imposed on American goods. So Kittle's customers are already squeezed.

KITTLE: If they don't have the money even to buy a tractor, they're probably not going to buy furniture.

NOGUCHI: That is indeed what's happening not far from one of Kittle's stores in Lafayette, Ind. Since China imposed tariffs last fall, farmer Brent Bible has nowhere to sell his soybean and corn crops. And that situation just got worse.

BRENT BIBLE: Just in the last three days of trading, we've seen the price reduction that equates¹⁶ to about a $50,000 loss for us.

NOGUCHI: Bible points out that he's also a consumer. And increased tariffs on steel and aluminum¹⁷ have raised prices on tractors and farm equipment he needs.

BIBLE: We are buying those products at an increased price, and we're paying that tariff.

NOGUCHI: As a supplier and as a consumer, he says, tariffs are hitting him on both ends.

Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF CLOUDKICKER'S "EXPLORE, BE CURIOUS")

1 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

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 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 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。

6 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

10 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

11 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

12 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

13 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

14 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

15 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

16 equates   

v.认为某事物（与另一事物）相等或相仿( equate的第三人称单数 )；相当于；等于；把（一事物） 和（另一事物）等同看待

参考例句：

• He equates success with material wealth. 他认为成功等同于物质财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This equates to increased and vigor, better sleep and sharper mental acuity. 也就是说可以起到增强活力，改善睡眠，提高心智的作用。 来自互联网

17 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。