VOA慢速英语20060919a

AGRICULTURE REPORT - Trying to Pump New Life Into World Trade TalksBy Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Tuesday, September 19, 2006

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Trade officials from a number of countries met in Brazil last week to discuss ways to restart world trade talks. The failure of agricultural negotiations¹ led to the suspension of those talks in July.


From left, E.U. Trade Commissioner² Peter Mandelson, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and W.T.O. chief Pascal Lamy

The group of developing countries known as the G-Twenty held the meeting in Rio de Janeiro. Trade officials from the United States, the European Union and Japan also attended the meeting. So did Pascal Lamy, the director general of the World Trade Organization.

The meeting ended with calls for the Doha Round of world trade talks to start again. A statement released after the meeting noted³ that agriculture is central to the Doha development issues.

Most of the world's poor make their living out of agriculture, the statement said. But it said their way of life is threatened by government support programs and barriers to markets in international agricultural trade.

Mister Lamy suspended the Doha Round after W.T.O. members could not reach agreement on two major issues: subsidies⁴ and market reform.

Developing nations want wealthy industrial countries to reduce or end subsidies. These payments, they say, drive down prices because they permit farmers from rich nations to sell their products for less on the world market.

Industrial nations want developing economies to ease their trade barriers, like import taxes and customs requirements. Developing nations, though, worry that foreign competition will hurt their own industries. Concerns about the effects of foreign competition are not limited to developing nations, of course.

United States Trade Representative Susan Schwab attended the meeting in Brazil. Earlier, she said she was actively⁵ seeking a new way forward for the Doha Round. She said the United States had offered big cuts in import taxes and supports. But E.U. Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson called for the United States to make a fresh proposal.

After the meeting, some officials said there had been progress. No agreements were reached to restart the Doha Round. But Brazil's foreign minister, Celso Amorim, said: The round is alive.

Brazil and other developing countries with fast-growing economies established the G-Twenty in two thousand three. The group has members in Latin America, Asia and Africa.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Mario Ritter. You can download transcripts⁶ and archives of our reports at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 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。

2 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

6 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句