2006年VOA标准英语-WTO Intensifies Geneva Talks, Cancels Mini

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
27 April 2006

The World Trade Organization has canceled a minister-level meeting scheduled for late April, admitting that members are not ready to meet a deadline for a trade liberalization deal. That deadline was set last December at the end of the WTO ministerial conference in Hong Kong. The setback¹ is further straining long-stalled trade talks aimed at helping² the world's poorest countries.

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Pascal Lamy speaks during a press conference at the World Trade Organization  
  

World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy says it simply would not have been worth taxpayers³' money for trade ministers to convene⁴ in Geneva this month. However, he said recently, a global trade deal remains⁵ possible, even if it does not come by the April 30 deadline.

"We have a missed deadline. But we have no deadlock," said Lamy.

Lamy says negotiators are making slow progress in implementing⁶ a set of trade liberalization goals agreed upon in Doha, Qatar, in 2001. The Doha Development Agenda aims to help poor nations fully⁷ benefit from increased world trade.

However, WTO members have spent years stalemated over key issues such as agricultural and industrial trade. Many developing nations and major farm exporters want more access to the agricultural markets of developed nations, while wealthy countries want more access to the markets for services and goods in poorer countries.

At the organization's Hong Kong ministerial conference in December, delegates made small steps toward a deal: wealthy nations pledged to end agricultural export subsidies⁸ by 2013, and to open their markets completely to goods from the world's poorest nations by 2008.

The delegates then promised to finalize⁹ a deal on the Doha goals by April 30.

But since then, only modest progress has been made.

Now, says Lamy, negotiators have only weeks to salvage¹⁰ an agreement.

"It's the sort of last lap - the sort of moment where you stretch your mandate¹¹. And you'd better get it right," he said.

There are three key players in the stalemate: the United States, the European Union, and a coalition¹² called the G-20, which represents emerging developing countries. WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell says for a deal to be salvaged¹³, the three groups must act as a "triangle" - taking action simultaneously¹⁴.

"The United States would agree to top up its offer to reduce domestic support for agriculture producers. The EU would agree to top up its offer to open its market more to agricultural imports. And the large emerging developing countries, led by India and Brazil, would do more to top up their offer to open up their markets to industrial imports," said Rockwell.

Rockwell says negotiators will meet intensively in the coming weeks in Geneva, trying to accomplish those tasks. They will focus narrowly on technical issues, rather than engaging in open-ended political discussions.

But experts say it is impossible to avoid policy decisions requiring political will.

While most WTO members think increased trade will benefit consumers and businesses in the long run, opening markets can cause short-term domestic pain for member nations.

For example, European Union Trade Commissioner¹⁵ Peter Mandelsohn accuses the United States of being unrealistic in its demands for greater access to European agriculture markets. He says cheap imports would ruin the livelihoods¹⁶ of many European farmers, and says proposals now before the WTO do not provide enough incentive¹⁷ for that kind of domestic hardship.

"We are ready to pay into the round and indeed, pay more than others. But we must get something real in return," noted¹⁸ Mandelsohn.

Robert Portman, who will soon leave his job as U.S. trade representative, says the EU should respond to what he calls Washington's "bold offer" on agriculture. He plans to be in Geneva over the coming weeks to push through a deal.

"I'm always optimistic," said Portman. "Sometimes my optimism has not proven to be good judgment¹⁹. But I have to be optimistic, it's just too important for us to allow this opportunity to let slip through our fingers."

It is ultimately a U.S. political deadline creating the urgency for the WTO. President Bush's "fast-track" trade negotiating authority, which allows him to submit deals to Congress for a simple up or down vote, expires next year and is not likely to be renewed. After that, Congress will be able to amend²⁰ any deal, making U.S. approval more difficult.

Some experts say breaking the deadline actually could bring new energy to the talks.

"I've been involved with trade negotiations²¹ for a while and it does seem to me that some kind of crisis is often necessary to stimulate²² the final moves to narrow the gaps," commented John Weekes, a senior policy adviser²³ for the international trade law firm Sidley Austin in Geneva. "Clearly a number of countries are going to have to do something they might prefer not to do, and they don't want to do that until they think it's absolutely necessary."

In the end, WTO staff and many experts say, if the Doha round fails, the biggest losers will be the poorest countries. Within the WTO, their vote counts as much as votes from economic superpowers such as the EU and the United States. Experts fear that if multilateral talks fail, weaker countries may see the chance to expand their markets and their economies fade away.

1 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

4 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 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》

9 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

10 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

11 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

12 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

13 salvaged   

（从火灾、海难等中）抢救（某物）( salvage的过去式和过去分词 )； 回收利用（某物）

参考例句：

• The investigators studied flight recorders salvaged from the wreckage. 调查者研究了从飞机残骸中找到的黑匣子。
• The team's first task was to decide what equipment could be salvaged. 该队的首要任务是决定可以抢救哪些设备。

14 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

15 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。

16 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

17 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

18 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。

19 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

20 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

21 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。

22 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

23 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。