美国国家公共电台 NPR China Falls Out Of Fashion For Some U.S. Brands

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

A lot of American companies that make or buy products from China are starting to rethink doing that as a new round of tariffs¹ takes effect this weekend. Import taxes are making Chinese goods more expensive in the United States. But finding alternative suppliers isn't that cheap either. NPR's Scott Horsley has the story.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE²: Many American companies are facing rising costs because of the tariffs. But Robert D'Loren doesn't have to worry. D'Loren's CEO of the Xcel Brands company, which sells clothing under the Isaac Mizrahi and Halston labels, among others. He began moving out of China some time ago not because of tariffs but in order to find faster, more flexible suppliers who could jump on fashion trends and turn out clothes in just six weeks. D'Loren says Xcel now manufacturers in a variety of countries, including Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka and is exploring production in Central and South America.

ROBERT D'LOREN: You never want to have all of your eggs in one basket in terms of supply. China was easy. In retrospect³, probably, if you had 90% of your production in China, that wasn't good risk management planning.

HORSLEY: D'Loren has gone from making 70% of his clothes in China to less than 20%. But it wasn't easy. He spent two years flying around the world, trying to line up factories.

D'LOREN: It took us five deliveries to get it right. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

HORSLEY: Clothes from the new factories didn't fit right at first or the fabric⁴ wasn't what he expected. Many companies are now going through a similar process of trial and error as they look for alternatives to Chinese factories in hopes of avoiding the president's tariffs.

GERRY MATTIOS: The truth is that the trade war is a little bit of a wakeup call for many companies.

HORSLEY: Gerry Mattios is a vice⁵ president with Bain & Company consultants⁶ based in Singapore. He says rising labor⁷ costs in China were already causing some companies to look elsewhere for suppliers, and the Trump⁸ tariffs have accelerated that. But other countries will need a lot of investment to match the expert manufacturing base and the robust⁹ shipping¹⁰ network that China's built up over the last two decades.

A survey by the American Chamber¹¹ of Commerce in China, which represents U.S. business there, says most companies that do relocate look to Southeast Asia. Vietnam's exports to the U.S. jumped 33% in the first six months of this year. Mexico is another popular destination. Roberto Durazo works for a company there called IVEMSA that helps manufacturers set up shop in Mexico. Durazo held three conference calls with potential clients in a single day this week. But for now, he says most are keeping their options open.

ROBERTO DURAZO: Not many of them are pulling the trigger. My feeling is that many of them are gathering¹² information, and if the trade war continues for a long time, just making the decision of coming into Mexico.

HORSLEY: Mexico offers the advantage of much shorter delivery time to the U.S., but it has risks of its own. Just three months ago, President Trump was threatening tariffs on goods made there. Trump has urged companies worried about tariffs to move production back to the United States, but only about 6% of the American companies operating in China are considering that. Harry¹³ Moser, who runs the Reshoring Initiative, estimates 25% would find manufacturing in the U.S. competitive if they took tariffs, transportation and all other costs into account.

HARRY MOSER: Probably, they made the right decision going to China when their wages were so low. Probably, they should have reevaluated it five years ago. But now that they feel they have to bring a lot of work out of China, now is the perfect time to reevaluate the U.S. as an alternative.

HORSLEY: But some companies are staying put. Louisiana-based Crown Crafts makes baby blankets and other products in China. CEO Randall Chestnut¹⁴ told investors¹⁵ this summer he looked at moving production to half a dozen different countries but ultimately decided¹⁶ it was cheaper to stay in China and pay the tariffs.

RANDALL CHESTNUT: So we think that we're going to have to bite the bullet and, you know, pass it on.

HORSLEY: According to the American Chamber, 60% of the U.S. companies now operating in China have no plans to relocate.

Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

1 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。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 retrospect   

n.回顾，追溯；v.回顾，回想，追溯

参考例句：

• One's school life seems happier in retrospect than in reality.学校生活回忆起来显得比实际上要快乐。
• In retrospect,it's easy to see why we were wrong.回顾过去就很容易明白我们的错处了。

4 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。

7 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。

8 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

9 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

10 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

11 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

12 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

13 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

14 chestnut   

n.栗树，栗子

参考例句：

• We have a chestnut tree in the bottom of our garden.我们的花园尽头有一棵栗树。
• In summer we had tea outdoors,under the chestnut tree.夏天我们在室外栗树下喝茶。

15 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

16 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。