美国国家公共电台 NPR In Trump's Trade War, Americans Will Be Asked To Show Economic Patriotism

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

All right. Elsewhere in economics, President Trump¹ has complicated the relationship between the U.S. and many of its biggest trading partners - he put tariffs³ on steel and aluminum⁴ imports, he renegotiated NAFTA, he started a trade war with China. But some of the people who've been hurt by Trump's policies are his biggest supporters, like farmers, and there is no sign for the moment that they're giving up on him. NPR's Jim Zarroli has the story.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE⁵: Bob Best manages a heating and air-conditioning company in suburban⁶ Atlanta. He says President Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs have raised the cost of the units he buys by as much as $150 each. But he says he still supports Trump 100%.

BOB BEST: You know, I'm not a big tariff² guy; I'm a free trade guy. But sometimes, when the bully⁷ just doesn't listen, you've got to punch him in the mouth. I mean - and that's exactly what he's doing.

ZARROLI: The bully he's talking about is China, but he says a lot of countries take advantage of the U.S. on trade. Trump, he says, is the first president to really try to do something about it. As an abstract idea, Americans are huge supporters of trade; they think it's good for the country. Mohamed Younis is editor in chief at Gallup, which regularly asks people whether they think trade represents an opportunity for economic growth.

MOHAMED YOUNIS: Seventy-four percent of Americans say that it is, and that number has actually been climbing since 2011.

ZARROLI: But Younis says there's something of a partisan⁸ split on the issue.

YOUNIS: The Republicans have become more negative on trade, basically since President Trump was running for office.

ZARROLI: He says GOP voters are much more likely to express skepticism about trade and to approve of Trump's aggressive agenda. Trump's policies have been especially hard on farmers, for example, but they still basically support him. Farm Journal regularly surveys farmers and ranchers about their political views. Editor Rhonda Brooks⁹ says 73% of farmers strongly or somewhat approved of Trump's job performance in the last survey in April. Brooks says there's no evidence that support is waning¹⁰.

RHONDA BROOKS: They believe very strongly that this is a president who is - more than any president in recent history actually, who's really been talking about farmers and at least, you know, acknowledging them and that he wants to help them.

ZARROLI: Even as Trump's tariffs have sent farm prices plummeting¹¹, he's provided billions of dollars in aid to keep farmers going. Another reason Trump has held onto his supporters is that he has focused a lot of his rhetoric¹² against China, says Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics¹³ and Public Policy Center. More so than other countries, China is seen as a rival that doesn't play fair, and a lot of Americans think it doesn't follow the rules on trade.

HENRY OLSEN: I think you have an element of patriotism¹⁴ - that people recognize that the Chinese government is not a free government, it's not a democratic government, and that it's increasingly becoming a threat to us and the other countries who do believe in those things.

ZARROLI: Olsen, who writes a column for The Washington Post, says there's another factor, as well, and that's the partisan realignment taking place right now - educated voters who tend to benefit from trade are increasingly voting Democratic; working-class voters who often see trade as a threat are voting more Republican. The question now is whether Trump's support on trade will last. Monte Peterson (ph) is a soybean farmer in North Dakota. He says he voted for Trump in 2016. I asked him whether he would do so again.

MONTE PETERSON: I think that really depends on what he's able to get accomplished¹⁵ from now until election time.

ZARROLI: Peterson says so far, he's not really impressed by Trump's trade policies, but there's still time for him to change his mind. And if Trump really hopes to level the playing field with China in the months to come, he needs to hold on to voters such as Peterson and convince them that the short-term pain they're undergoing will be worth it in the end. Jim Zarroli, NPR News.

(THE HALIFAX PIER'S "CHANCE TO LEAVE")

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 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。

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 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。

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 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

7 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

8 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

9 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 waning   

adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
• The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 plummeting   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Prices are rising, falling, going up, going down, shooting up, plummeting, etc. 物价在上涨、下跌、上升、下落、猛然上涨、骤然下跌等。 来自辞典例句
• The enemy plane went plummeting into the sea. 敌机直直掉进海里。 来自辞典例句

12 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。

13 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

14 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

15 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。