VOA英语2010年-New Congress Likely to Favor Trade Pacts, Di

When the 111th Congress ends within the next few weeks, many international initiatives will be left behind. Among them are several UN conventions thought to have the support of the administration, including the Elimination¹ of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Rights of the Child, and the Law of the Sea.

Analyst² Brett Schaefer of the Washington-based Heritage Foundation doubts they'll be taken up by the new more conservative Congress.

In the 100-member U.S. Senate, 67 votes are required to ratify³ a treaty. But that number has been hard to reach - even with a large Democratic Party majority during the first two years of the Obama administration.

 
White House
The President meets with national security experts on the New START treaty, White House Photo, Chuck Kennedy, 11/18/10
Schaefer says it will be even harder when six new Republican legislators take their seats early next year in the Senate.

"The prospect⁴ for the US Senate to give its advice and consent necessary for ratification⁵ of those treaties was rather high under the previous make up of the US Senate which had 60 Democrats⁶ and a number of moderate Republicans," says Schaefer. "But some of the moderate Republicans have been replaced and the number of Republicans in the Senate has increased, reducing the prospects⁷ for any kind of treaty ratification over the next two years."

New START

The best known of the proposed accords is the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russia.

The administration would like to have it ratified⁸ by the current Senate. According to the New York Times, if the vote were taken today, the president would need the help of at least 9 Republicans. If he waits for the new Congress to meet early next year, he will need at least 14).

Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), a strong supporter of the Tea Party movement, which aims to reduce the size and expense of government, opposes the new treaty. In mid-November, 10 new Republican Senators publically announced their desire to participate in the debate. Among them are Marco Rubio (of Florida), Ron Johnson (of Wisconsin), former US trade Representative Rob Portman (of Ohio), and Rand Paul (of Kentucky).

Among the Republican supporters of the New START treaty is the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Richard Lugar.

CLIMATE CHANGE

One treaty likely to receive little or no support is the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is currently holding its annual meeting in Cancun, Mexico.

President Obama favors reducing US greenhouse gas emissions⁹ by approximately 17 percent below 2005 levels.

 
World Bank
Parched¹⁰ soil by the White Nile in Sudan. Some scientists say drought brought on by climate change contributes to such cases of land degradation¹¹
But an effort to introduce a so-called cap-and-trade deal to limit emissions failed to gain support in the US Senate last year. And, the Washington Post says nearly half of the incoming Republican legislators to the House have doubts about that climate change is caused by human activity.

Energy analyst Nick Loris of the conservative Heritage Foundation says that view is reflected in the desire by some new legislators for a new direction for the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

"They want to get to the root of the science behind global warming," says Loris, "and create more of an objective platform to allow different climatologists with dissenting¹² views to bring their expertise¹³ to the table and create and honest and transparent¹⁴ debate, rather than one that says the science is settled, which is what happened in the past with the committee in the past."

Loris says many conservatives are also concerned that multilateral efforts could restrict US decision-making, and economic growth.

"There is concern," he says, "that with regard to [the Kyoto Agreement and other] climate change treaties, the US Government would not be making decisions any more with regard to these policies. [They] would be [decided] by the UN Framework.

"There was a large concern if we enter into one of the treaties where the US is one of 192 countries (involved), there [would be] a lot of sovereignty lost to big economic decisions that could significantly regulate the (US) private sector¹⁵."

Conservatives say free-market incentives¹⁷ can help stem deforestation, which contributes between 20 to 25 percent of the carbon emissions that cause climate change.
Some say President Obama may have to settle for smaller initiatives like helping¹⁸ poor countries adapt to climate change or paying for measures to reduce deforestation. They say the president and Congress might agree on subsidies¹⁹ for reducing the pollutants²⁰ in coal, and for improving the development of nuclear energy and others forms of energy supported by conservatives.

However, Loris says Republicans are against using tax payer money to subsidize any technologies used to combat climate change. He says fostering free trade between nations is a better way to get needed technology to the developing world, rather than government-to-government financial support which is likely be wasted. He says even deforestation has a free-market solution.

"If you privatize some of these areas," says Loris, "the businesses or private owners of the forests have the incentive¹⁶ to keep them grown and sustainable and the incentive when they are cut down to re-grow those areas. It is matter of establishing private property rights in countries where [they are not well established]."

TRADE PACTS²²

Despite differences over multilateral treaties and conventions, observers say there may yet be common ground between the administration and the new Congress.

Dan Ikenson, the associate director of trade policy studies at the Washington-based CATO Institute, say the new Congress and the administration could compromise on trade deals with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.

According to Bloomberg News, a deal with Seoul would create $68 billion in trade, and would boost Obama's goal of creating US jobs and doubling US exports over the next five years.

Ikenson says the prospects for trade are much better now with the Republican Congress.

Observers say the Obama administration and the new Congress are both likely to favor bilateral²³ deals to boost trade, and jobs.
"Another agreement in the works with Obama is the Trans Pacific Partnership²⁴, which was originally between Brunei, New Zealand, Chile and Singapore. It now includes the United States, Vietnam, Peru and Malaysia.

"The reason the administration likes it is it does not have to defend a Bush era trade agreement, and it gives them time to work with congress to figure out what they want. That's the next great hope in terms of trade agreements."

Among Senate Republicans said to favor the pact²¹ are Jim DeMint (of South Carolina), former US trade representative Rob Portman (of Ohio), and Mark Kirk (of Illinois).

DEVELOPMENT

The House may also be inclined to support new trade agreements, according to Sarah Jane Staats, the director of policy outreach at the Center for Global Development in Washington, DC.

"Dave Camp (R-Michigan) is likely to be the head of the House Ways and Means Committee and Kevin Brady (R-Texas) the (likely) chair of the Trade Subcommittee (of the Ways and Means Committee), says Staats. "They've been extremely good on the role of the US in the world and the importance of trade to the domestic economy and to global development. So I am hopeful there."

Development experts are concerned budget cuts could affect administration initiatives to curb²⁵ global hunger and promote good health
Staats also sees continued cooperation on foreign policy issues including two administration priorities: the Global Health Initiative for fighting malaria²⁶, HIV and neglected diseases, and the 3.5 billion dollar initiative to boost the production of small farmers and agricultural industries in the developing world, Feed the Future.

"In the past, there has been enormous bipartisan support for global health," says Staats, "and we saw huge increases in combating AIDS under Bush...Feed the Future is newer and has not received the attention it needed in past years, but again builds on some sentiments shared across the aisles²⁷ [of Congress]."

Analysts²⁸ say there will likely be budget cuts in some foreign assistance and humanitarian²⁹ programs. However, Staats is hopeful budget pressures will also force much-needed reforms to the government's strategy for overseas development. That could mean the better use of trade and other policy tools to support development, and changes in how, and where, the US focuses its efforts.

1 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

4 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

5 ratification   

n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• The treaty is awaiting ratification.条约正等待批准。
• The treaty is subject to ratification.此条约经批准后才能生效。

6 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

8 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

9 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

10 parched   

adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干

参考例句：

• Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
• The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。

11 degradation   

n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变

参考例句：

• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。
• Gambling is always coupled with degradation.赌博总是与堕落相联系。

12 dissenting   

adj.不同意的

参考例句：

• He can't tolerate dissenting views. 他不能容纳不同意见。
• A dissenting opinion came from the aunt . 姑妈却提出不赞同的意见。

13 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

14 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

15 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。

16 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。

17 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

18 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。

19 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》

20 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

21 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。

22 pacts   

条约( pact的名词复数 )； 协定； 公约

参考例句：

• Vassals can no longer accept one-sided defensive pacts (!). 附庸国不会接受单方面的共同防御协定。
• Well, they are EU members now and have formed solidarity pacts with members such as Poland. 他们现在已经是欧盟的一部分了并且他们和欧盟成员诸如波兰等以签署了合作协议。

23 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

24 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。

25 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

26 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

27 aisles   

n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊

参考例句：

• Aisles were added to the original Saxon building in the Norman period. 在诺曼时期，原来的萨克森风格的建筑物都增添了走廊。
• They walked about the Abbey aisles, and presently sat down. 他们走到大教堂的走廊附近，并且很快就坐了下来。

28 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。

29 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。