美国国家公共电台 NPR 亚太15国共同签署世界最大自由贸易协定RCEP

China and 14 other Asian and Pacific countries have signed one of the biggest free trade agreements in the world. It is called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership¹, RCEP — RCEP, they say. The United States is not part of this giant free trade deal. NPR's Southeast Asia correspondent Julie McCarthy is covering it. Hi there, Julie.

中国和其他14个亚太国家签署了世界上最大的自由贸易协定之一。这项协定名为区域全面经济伙伴关系（简称RCEP）美国并未参与这项庞大的自由贸易协定。NPR新闻驻东南亚记者朱莉·麦卡锡将带来详细报道。你好，朱莉。

JULIE MCCARTHY, BYLINE²: Hi there.

朱莉·麦卡锡连线：你好。

INSKEEP: OK. Apart from China, who's in?

因斯基普：好。除了中国，还有哪些国家？

MCCARTHY: Well, there's these 10 Southeast Asian countries, like Vietnam, Indonesia, plus China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. This group accounts for almost a third of global gross domestic product and covers nearly a third of the world's population. It's big.

麦卡锡：有10个东南亚国家，比如越南、印度尼西亚，还有中国、日本、韩国、澳大利亚和新西兰。这些国家的国内生产总值几乎占全球总额的三分之一，人口占世界总人口的近三分之一。规模相当大。

INSKEEP: And I should note, it seems to include a number of U.S. allies — South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand. What's the deal do?

因斯基普：我要指出的是，这份协定似乎包括了许多美国盟友——韩国、日本、澳大利亚、新西兰。该协定目的为何？

MCCARTHY: Well, it's largely an exercise in lowering tariffs³ between these 15 economies. And member states say the deal encompasses⁴ 90% of goods between them, with a very long time frame to get to zero tariffs. But the breakthrough is that the region will effectively harmonize into a more unified⁵ trading system, rather than the dozens it has now.

麦卡锡：主要目的是降低这15个经济体之间的关税。各成员国表示，这项协议覆盖各国90%的商品，而且实现零关税的时限非常长。但突破之处在于，该地区将有效地协调成一个更加统一的贸易体系，而不是现在的数十个体系。

MCCARTHY: And what this deal doesn't do, Steve, is set standards for labor⁶ or the environment. Still, it does potentially deepen economic integration⁷ within Asia.

麦卡锡：史蒂夫，这份协议并没有为劳动力或环境设定标准。不过，其确实有可能深化亚洲内部的经济一体化。

INSKEEP: Does it also sideline the United States?

因斯基普：该协议是否也在排挤美国？

MCCARTHY: Well, the U.S. withdrew itself from the Asian trade game when President Trump⁸ rejected the rival pact⁹ to this one just signed, which was the Trans-Pacific Partnership. So the United States is languishing¹⁰ on the sidelines of two major trade deals. China hailed this latest free trade agreement as a triumph of multilateralism.

麦卡锡：特朗普总统拒绝了这项协定的竞争协定——刚刚签署的跨太平洋伙伴关系协定（简称TTP），这标志着美国退出了亚洲贸易博弈。因此，美国现在在两个主要的贸易协定之外苦苦挣扎。中国称赞这项最新的自由贸易协定是多边主义的胜利。

INSKEEP: And that last part, rules-making, is key. The question of who gets to make the rules for the world is a huge one because the United States has been the rule-maker up to now. Can the United States get back in the game?

因斯基普：最后一部分，规则制定，这是关键。谁来为世界制定规则是一个巨大的问题，因为到目前为止，美国一直是规则的制定者。美国能重回这场博弈吗？

MCCARTHY: Well, President-elect Joe Biden will be under pressure to engage more on trade with Asia. You know, but getting back into another version, say, of a TPP would require a lot of his political capital. The fact is big free trade agreements are not popular where Biden won the presidency¹¹, in swing states, where labor tends to reject these trade deals.

麦卡锡：当选总统乔·拜登将面临压力，会有人要求他更多地参与亚洲贸易。但要回到另一项协定TPP，将需要他大量的政治资本。事实上，在帮助拜登赢得总统宝座的摇摆州，大型自由贸易协定并不受欢迎，这些州的劳动力倾向于拒绝这些贸易协定。

But maybe trade takes another shape. Michael Green, with the Center for Strategic and International Studies says, look; the world's changing. It's technology — 5G and digital trade. He says that is more important to the future of economic and geopolitical competition. So Green says the United States is not out of the game yet.

但也许贸易会有另一种形式。战略与国际研究中心的迈克尔·格林表示，看，世界在变化。现在是技术、5G和数字贸易在主导。他表示，这对未来的经济和地缘政治竞争更为重要。因此格林说，美国还没有退出博弈。

INSKEEP: NPR Southeast Asia correspondent Julie McCarthy, always a pleasure talking with you.

因斯基普：以上是NPR新闻驻共产党南亚记者朱莉·麦卡锡带来的报道，很高兴和你连线。

MCCARTHY: Same.

麦卡锡：我也很高兴。

1 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

2 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。

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 encompasses   

v.围绕( encompass的第三人称单数 )；包围；包含；包括

参考例句：

• The job encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. 这项工作涉及的职责范围很广。
• Its conservation law encompasses both its magnitude and its direction. 它的守恒定律包括大小和方向两方面。 来自辞典例句

5 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

6 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。

7 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

8 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。

9 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

10 languishing   

a. 衰弱下去的

参考例句：

• He is languishing for home. 他苦思家乡。
• How long will she go on languishing for her red-haired boy? 为想见到她的红头发的儿子，她还将为此烦恼多久呢？

11 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。