2006年VOA标准英语-World Trade Talks Produce 'Incremental' Pr

By Michael Drudge¹
London
12 March 2006

Officials at six-power world trade talks in London say there has been no breakthrough and only incremental² progress in their drive to tear down trade barriers in developed and developing countries.

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The London talks brought together trade representatives from Australia, Brazil, the European Union, India, Japan and the United States.

The two-day meeting focused on how to reduce agricultural subsidies³ in the West and open up protected industrial markets in the developing nations ahead of an April deadline set by the World Trade Organization.

European Union Trade Representative Peter Mandelson says more work is needed. "We did not expect to be announcing a major breakthrough today and made that clear. It's not, in any case, our job to do that. That is the job of the WTO membership as a whole. But we have had a constructive⁴ and useful meeting," he said.

The Brazilian representative, Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, says he believes the talks are going too slowly to meet the April deadline. "I think the click is not yet there, to have the deal. I mean we have been working in an incremental way and personally I don't believe we can get to an agreement by incremental steps at this stage," he said.

Brazil and Britain are calling for a summit of leaders from the 149 nations in the WTO to push through an agreement, but details have not been announced.

The aim of the world trade negotiations⁵, known as the Doha round, is to promote the development of the world's poorest nations.

Critics of the London talks say Africa, as the poorest continent, should have had a representative at the meeting.

The British charity Oxfam says the West's promises to promote trade and debt relief for Africa have not materialized, falling short of the pledges British Prime Minister Tony Blair won last year from the world's richest countries.

Mr. Blair's Commission on Africa last March called for $25 billion a year in poverty reduction programs for Africa. It also called on the rich countries to end agricultural subsides⁶ and trade barriers that hurt African exporters.

1 drudge   

n.劳碌的人；v.做苦工，操劳

参考例句：

• I feel like a real drudge--I've done nothing but clean all day!我觉得自己像个做苦工的--整天都在做清洁工作！
• I'm a poor,miserable,forlorn drudge;I shall only drag you down with me.我是一个贫穷，倒运，走投无路的苦力，只会拖累你。

2 incremental   

adj.增加的

参考例句：

• For logic devices, the incremental current gain is very important. 对于逻辑器件来说，提高电流增益是非常重要的。 来自辞典例句
• By using an incremental approach, the problems involving material or geometric nonlinearity have been solved. 借应用一种增量方法，已经解决了包括材料的或几何的非线性问题。 来自辞典例句

3 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》

4 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

5 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。

6 subsides   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的第三人称单数 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• Emotion swells and subsides. 情绪忽高忽低。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His emotion swells and subsides. 他的情绪忽高忽低。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》