环太平洋国家达成具有里程碑意义的贸易协议

Pacific Rim¹ Countries Reach Landmark² Trade Agreement 环太平洋国家达成具有里程碑意义的贸易协议

The United States and 11 other countries reached agreement Monday on a massive free trade deal that will lower trading barriers and set common standards among Pacific Rim countries that together account for nearly half of the world’s global output. News of the landmark trade agreement was announced Monday in Atlanta. Now it’s up to lawmakers in all of the countries to determine if the terms of the Trans-Pacific Partnership⁴, or TPP, is in their country’s best interests. Mil Arcega has more.

"We the trade ministers of Australia, Brunei Darusssalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam are pleased to announce that we have successfully concluded the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations⁵," said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman.

After five years of back and forth⁶ negotiations – 12 Pacific Rim nations say they have a deal - one that U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman says will lower tariffs⁷ and improve living standards across the Asia-Pacific region.

Lawmakers have 90 days to ratify⁸ the deal.  But very few expect easy passage in Congress.

Scott Kennedy is an expert on global economic relations at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.  

“This will be a very contentious⁹ debate where they talk about all the different issues, and since we're entering the silly season of campaigns for 2016, you’re going to see every argument thrown at this deal," said Kennedy.

The strongest opposition¹⁰ is expected to come from labor¹¹ groups and from President Obama’s own party, which claim the pact¹² will lead to job losses and hurt the environment.  But free trade advocates say the agreement will expand U.S. exports and open doors for American farmers. It also extends patent protections for some U.S. drug makers³.  

“It’s a proven fact that even though some sectors¹³, some specific companies, may lose, by and large, the economy as a whole will gain.  More jobs ought to be created as a result of this deal, rather than less," said Kennedy.

Analysts¹⁴ say TPP expands U.S. opportunities in the Pacific and could counter the growing influence of China, now the world's second largest economy.

"We expect this historic agreement to promote economic growth, support higher paying jobs, enhance innovation productivity and competitiveness, raise living standards, reduce poverty in our countries, and promote transparency, good governance and strong labor and environmental protections," said Froman.

1 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

2 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

3 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

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 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

8 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。

9 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

12 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。

13 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 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。