VOA标准英语2015--货币争论威胁贸易洽谈

Currency Squabbles Threaten to Tangle¹ Trade Talks 货币争论威胁贸易洽谈

The Obama administration is working hard to make new trade deals, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership² with 11 Pacific nations. But getting those deals signed by trading partners and approved in Congress will mean resolving many differences, including one over how nations manage their currencies.

Protesters from U.S. trade unions and other free-trade skeptics say some nations manipulate the value of their currencies to give their exports an unfair price advantage on world markets, hurting American workers.

Senator Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat³, said Washington must do more to protect American workers.

"It's estimated that millions of jobs have gone away" because of trade issues, he said.

A cheap currency can be a big advantage for exporting countries, according to Carnegie Mellon University economics professor Lee Branstetter.

"It is making their goods artificially cheap and our goods artificially expensive," he said. "It is as if they were subsidizing their exports and applying tariffs⁴ to our imports."

Branstetter said nations can change the value of their own currencies by printing money and using it to buy U.S. currency and government securities. More demand for U.S. dollars raises their price. Less demand for the other nation's currency makes that currency cheaper.

Worried about manufacturing jobs, some members of Congress say new trade deals must stop currency manipulation. But Branstetter said such regulations also could hamper⁵ U.S. economic policies, like the Federal Reserve's ultra-low interest rates, which may have had the unintended effect of pushing down the value of the dollar.

Some experts say adding currency manipulation provisions to the Trans-Pacific Partnership now, when the deal is nearly complete, could kill the agreement.

Undersecretary of State Catherine Novelli said failing to reach a deal could hurt U.S. workers.

"If we don’t get the deal done, rules can be put in place that are not going to be fair and the bar can be set very low," she said, "and that can really impede⁶ our ability to export things that our workers and our farmers are producing."

The currency issue is one of several to be worked out before Washington can sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement with 11 other Pacific nations, and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union.  A separate agreement, called Trade Promotion⁷ Authority, is pending⁸ in Congress.  Under TPA, Congress can accept or reject trade agreements, but cannot amend⁹ or delay them.

While issues remain, the head of the Senate committee that deals with trade issues, Utah Republican Orrin Hatch, said new, trade-friendly Republican majorities in both houses of Congress make it more likely that the deals will eventually win approval.

1 tangle   

n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱

参考例句：

• I shouldn't tangle with Peter.He is bigger than me.我不应该与彼特吵架。他的块头比我大。
• If I were you, I wouldn't tangle with them.我要是你，我就不跟他们争吵。

2 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。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 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。

5 hamper   

vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子

参考例句：

• There are some apples in a picnic hamper.在野餐用的大篮子里有许多苹果。
• The emergence of such problems seriously hamper the development of enterprises.这些问题的出现严重阻碍了企业的发展。

6 impede   

v.妨碍，阻碍，阻止

参考例句：

• One shouldn't impede other's progress.一个人不应该妨碍他人进步。
• The muddy roads impede our journey.我们的旅游被泥泞的道路阻挠了。

7 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

8 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

9 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。