经济学人120:贸易协定,多少有些进展

 　　Trade pacts¹贸易协定

　　Progress, of a sort

　　多少有些进展

　　Coupling trade with worker aid

　　想要贸易协定，就得搭上工人补贴

　　Jun 30th 2011 | WASHINGTON, DC | from the print edition

　　BARACK OBAMA is a late and reluctant convert to free trade. As a senator he opposed many trade agreements negotiated by George Bush—among them deals with Korea, Colombia and, for a time, Panama. As president he has given his backing to those deals, provided Korea did more to admit American cars, Colombia made greater efforts to prevent the murder of union activists², and Panama tried harder to crack down on tax cheats. Satisfied on those fronts, he then insisted that Congress should also reauthorise Trade Adjustment Assistance, or TAA, which provides American workers who lose their jobs to foreign competition with training, income support and subsidised health insurance.

　　巴拉克?奥巴马（BARACK OBAMA）对于自由贸易态度的转变显得姗姗来迟，而且还颇为勉强。在其还是参议员的时候，他对许多由乔治?布什（George Bush）进行谈判的贸易协定投了反对票。其中包括与韩国，哥伦比亚，还有曾经一段时期内与巴拿马签署的贸易协定。成为总统之后，他对这些贸易协定表示了支持但是条件是韩国必须允许更多的美国汽车进入其市场，哥伦比亚需要花更大的力气来保护工会的骨干分子免遭谋杀。而巴拿马应加强对骗税行为的惩处力度。在这些条件得到满足之后，奥巴马又坚决要求国会重新批准贸易适应援助（Trade Adjustment Assistannce）简称TAA，从而能为因国外竞争导致失业的美国工人提供培训和收入方面的帮助，以及对其医疗保险提供补贴。

　　He appears to have won that as well. On June 28th the White House said it had a deal with Max Baucus and Dave Camp, the Democratic and Republican chairmen of the trade committees in the Senate and House respectively, to bundle reauthorisation of TAA in with the Korean deal. Mr Obama would then submit all three pacts to Congress for ratification³, along with renewal⁴ of preferential tariffs⁵ for poor countries.

　　奥巴马的这个提议似乎也能获得批准。在6月28号，白宫宣布其已经分别与民主党与共和党在参众两院的贸易委员会主席Max Baucus 以及Dave Camp达成了协议。准备将重新批准的贸易适应援助（TAA）加入到美国与韩国的贸易协定中去。之后，奥巴马将向国会提请获批所有这3项贸易协议，另外还附加关于延长给予穷国优惠关税待遇。

　　The deal is a fragile one. Republicans have been clamouring to ratify⁶ the trade pacts, but not necessarily with TAA attached. Serious fraying⁷ has occurred of the consensus⁸ that trade liberalisation’s benefits for the many should be coupled with aid for the few. John Kennedy signed TAA into law in 1962 as part of the inauguration⁹ of global trade negotiations¹⁰ so that “those injured by that competition should not be required to bear the full brunt of the impact.”

　　但这项协议的基础却不够牢靠，共和党人已经在大声疾呼要求在通过这几项贸易协定同时不应强行附带贸易适应援助（TAA）。在实行自由贸易给广大民众带来益处的同时对少数人给予补贴曾经是两党的共识，但是这一次却在这个问题上产生了严重了分歧。约翰?肯尼迪（John Kennedy）在1962年将贸易适应援助（TAA）写入了法律，成为拉开全球贸易谈判序幕的一部分 ，目的在于“保证在引入竞争之后，不能要求一些人首当其冲承受由于竞争导致的利益受损。”

　　Eligibility¹¹ for TAA has been expanded several times; by 2010 it went to 234,949 people. Howard Rosen, a proponent¹² of TAA and a scholar at the Peterson Institute, notes that key Republicans, including Mr Camp, supported its last expansion in 2009. (That expansion has expired, and the latest deal would restore it.) Mr Camp still supports TAA, but many of his fellow Republicans consider it just a waste of money.

　　符合贸易适应援助（TAA）的人数范围已经被扩大了几次，截止2010年，已经有23.4949万人有资格享受到该援助。作为贸易适应援助(TAA)的拥护者，Howard Rosen这位皮特森学院（Peterson Institue）的学者指出，共和党的重要成员包括Camp先生在内都支持该援助在2009年实行的最后一次扩编行为（这次扩编已经被中止了，而在最近的这项协议中决定恢复该项政策）Camp先生仍旧支持实行贸易适应援助，但是他的许多共和党同僚则认为该援助是在浪费金钱。

　　If Republicans strip TAA from the deal, Mr Obama may abandon the trade deals altogether. That might destroy the prospect¹³ of any trade liberalisation during his presidency¹⁴. But many Americans won’t care. Pew, a pollster, finds that 44% of them, a plurality, think trade agreements are bad for America, the highest percentage in 13 years.

　　如果共和党人将贸易适应援助（TAA）从该项协议删去的话，奥巴马可能会反对所有的贸易协定。这样可能会使得在其总统任期内实施任何贸易自由化都成为了不可能。但是许多美国人却对此并不在意，一位叫做Pew的民意调查员调查发现许多美国人认为贸易协议对于美国没有好处，这一占比达到了44%，为过去13年以来的最高值。

1 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。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

5 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。

6 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。

7 fraying   

v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The cuffs of his shirt were fraying. 他衬衣的袖口磨破了。
• Support for the leader was fraying at the edges. 对这位领导人的支持已经开始瓦解。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

9 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

10 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。

11 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

12 proponent   

n.建议者；支持者；adj.建议的

参考例句：

• Stapp became a strong early proponent of automobile seat belts.斯塔普是力主在汽车上采用座椅安全带的早期倡导者。
• Halsey was identified as a leading proponent of the values of progressive education.哈尔西被认为是进步教育价值观的主要支持者。

13 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。

14 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。