2007年VOA标准英语-West Africa's Cotton Countries Impatient for Do

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
06 September 2007

As trade negotiators meet in Geneva on the stalled negotiations¹ known as the Doha round, government ministers from West Africa's biggest cotton producing countries met in Burkina Faso to prepare their demands on  a Doha deal.  Phuong Tran has more from VOA's West Africa bureau in Dakar.

Choguel Maiga, Malian Minister of Commerce (far left person), Ouagadougou, 06 Sept 2007

Negotiators are expected to work over the next two weeks in Geneva on the same issues that have stalled the talks for the last two years: how much to cut farmers' subsidies², mostly in the United States and Europe, and in return, how much access that will buy those countries' industrial goods in poorer countries.

Cotton officials from Chad, Mali, Benin and Burkina Faso met to renew their campaign against foreign agricultural subsidies they say hurt their farmers and lower global cotton prices.

Burkina Faso's representative to the World Trade Organization, Moussa Niebe, says Africans are not looking for favors from rich trade partners.

"This is really a problem of justice," Nebie said.  We are just asking them to respect the rules of international trade, the rules of the WTO [World Trade Organization], the rules of the free market. "

Analysts³ say West Africa's cotton sector⁴ is near bankruptcy⁵ not only because of stalled trade talks.  They point to weather, poor technology and competition from chemical fibers⁶.

Choguel Maiga

Mali's Minister of Commerce, Choguel Maiga, tells VOA this is why it is important for rich countries to cut subsidies and open markets so African cotton producers can tackle other problems.

Maiga says the harm to American farmers from cutting subsidies would not be as great as the harm those subsidies currently cause West Africans, who he says are dependent on cotton revenue.

The International Cotton Advisory⁷ Committee, an association of 44 cotton producing countries, says up to 15 million West Africans are dependent on cotton farming.

A Burkinabese farmer stands by cotton bolls in Pama, central Burkina Faso, 22 Jan 2007

The minister adds that even though it will be difficult for the U.S. government to cut subsidies because of the strong American cotton lobby, he says the U.S. must comply with international trade laws. 

The United States has already agreed to cut major cotton subsidies by more than half to $22.5 billion a year as a result of a case brought by Brazil in the World Trade Organization.

But the cut will not be fully⁸ implemented⁹ for another six years.  The World Trade Organization is expected to issue a ruling later this year on whether the United States has done enough to comply.

The trade negotiations in Geneva are expected to last until the end of the month.

The Doha round is named for the capital of Qatar, where the talks began in 2001. 

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 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》

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

5 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

6 fibers   

光纤( fiber的名词复数 )； （织物的）质地； 纤维，纤维物质

参考例句：

• Thesolution of collagen-PVA was wet spined with the sodium sulfate as coagulant and collagen-PVA composite fibers were prepared. 在此基础上，以硫酸钠为凝固剂，对胶原-PVA共混溶液进行湿法纺丝，制备了胶原-PVA复合纤维。
• Sympathetic fibers are distributed to all regions of the heart. 交感神经纤维分布于心脏的所有部分。

7 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

8 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。

9 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句