美国国家公共电台 NPR Get Ready For Higher Prices If New Tariffs Hit Goods From China, Retailers Warn

 

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Higher prices will be coming to stores this fall if President Trump¹ follows through with his threat to slap new tariffs³ on Chinese imports. That's according to retailers⁵ who warn the tariffs would apply to a broad swath of consumer items, from electronics to tennis shoes. Rising trade tensions with China prompted another sell-off on Wall Street today, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 100 points. NPR's Scott Horsley has more.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE⁶: More than 40% of all the clothes sold in the United States are made in China. China also makes nearly 70% of all the shoes sold here and 88% of the toys. These items have been largely untouched by the tariffs President Trump has already imposed on China over the last year. But trade analyst⁷ Chad Bown of the Peterson Institute for International Economics says they'll almost certainly be on the target list if the president makes good on his threat to impose new tariffs September 1.

CHAD BOWN: What really does set this list of products apart from all of the earlier tariffs are, it's basically consumer goods - clothing and toys, iPhones - all of that stuff has been shielded so far, and that's what's likely on the list this time around.

HORSLEY: Senior Vice⁸ President David French with the National Retail⁴ Federation⁹ says, at first, some store owners might try to absorb the cost of the tariffs to keep customers happy. But ultimately, he says those import taxes will show up in the prices people pay at the cash register.

DAVID FRENCH: All of this is just going to add up. And at some point, whether it's this holiday season or sometime next year, the full pain is going to come home to roost.

HORSLEY: The administration downplays those warnings. White House economic adviser¹⁰ Larry Kudlow insists the trade war is costing China more than it is the U.S.

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LARRY KUDLOW: Any consumer impact is very, very small, minuscule¹¹. By the by, consumer spending and consumer wages and salaries are all booming.

HORSLEY: Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy has been strong, but the trade war is taking a toll¹². While unemployment is a low 3.7%, the Labor¹³ Department said today hiring has downshifted, with employers adding about 140,000 jobs in each of the last three months, down from about 233,000 in the final months of last year.

Imports from China fell 12% in the first half of the year, but exports to China fell even further - 18%. Bown says China has not only imposed retaliatory¹⁴ tariffs on U.S. exports, but it's relaxed tariffs on competing products from other countries.

BOWN: That puts American exporters at a disadvantage. They're getting hurt twice - by the retaliatory tariffs, and now they're having an even more difficult time competing in the Chinese market.

HORSLEY: Farmers and ranchers have been particularly hard hit by the president's trade battles, as other countries have targeted farm goods in an effort to score political points here in the U.S. Cattle ranchers did get some relief today, though - an agreement making it easier to export American beef to Europe. Trump announced the deal at the White House, surrounded by ranchers in broad-brimmed hats.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: This is a tremendous victory for American farmers, ranchers and, of course, European consumers because American beef is considered the best in the world.

HORSLEY: The deal with Europe applies a thick steak to the black eye U.S. exporters have been nursing for the last year, but Trump still seems more interested in erecting¹⁵ new trade barriers than knocking down old ones. As he left the signing ceremony, the president couldn't resist joking about imposing¹⁶ a new 25% tariff² on imported Mercedes and BMWs - at least the president said he was joking.

Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

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 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

5 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。

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 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

10 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

11 minuscule   

adj.非常小的；极不重要的

参考例句：

• The human race only a minuscule portion of the earth's history.人类只有占有极小部分地球历史。
• As things stand,Hong Kong's renminbi banking system is minuscule.就目前的情况而言，香港的人民币银行体系可谓微不足道。

12 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

13 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

14 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

15 erecting   

v.使直立，竖起( erect的现在分词 )；建立

参考例句：

• Nations can restrict their foreign trade by erecting barriers to exports as well as imports. 象设置进口壁垒那样，各国可以通过设置出口壁垒来限制对外贸易。 来自辞典例句
• Could you tell me the specific lift-slab procedure for erecting buildings? 能否告之用升板法安装楼房的具体程序？ 来自互联网

16 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。