美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Signs 'Phase 1' China Trade Deal, But Most Tariffs Rema

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Well, a year and a half after launching his trade war against China, President Trump¹ is set to sign a partial truce² today. He's going to be joined by China's vice³ premier⁴ at a signing ceremony at the White House. Trump has agreed to relax some of those tariffs⁶ he imposed on Chinese imports in exchange for Beijing's agreement to buy more American products and also make some other changes. NPR's Scott Horsley has the details on this and joins us this morning. Hey there, Scott.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE⁷: Good morning, David.

GREENE: OK. So important here - this deal is being called a phase one trade agreement, which I think suggests to all of us that this might not be the last word.

HORSLEY: That's right. It does not address some of the structural⁸ issues that the administration has complained about in China's economy. Those are left for phase two negotiations⁹. But the administration says this deal does include some more safeguards for U.S. companies' intellectual property in China for their technological¹⁰ knowhow. In an interview with Fox News, Treasury¹¹ Secretary Steven Mnuchin conceded that the deal doesn't get everything the administration wants, but he characterized this as a victory for President Trump.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SUNDAY MORNING FUTURES")

STEVEN MNUCHIN: This is really a historic transaction. Now, it's not everything, and, as we've said, there will be a phase two. But this is the first time we've had a comprehensive agreement with China. This is a big win for the president.

HORSLEY: And the administration also boasts that China is going to buy a lot more U.S. goods and services, some $200 billion in additional imports, over the next couple of years compared to what Beijing was buying back in 2017 before the trade war began.

GREENE: Can we focus on that $200 billion number? I mean, that would be a massive increase in U.S. exports going to China, like, more than 50%, right? I mean, is that realistic?

HORSLEY: It's certainly a stretch, and it would likely require China to shift some purchases away from other countries, which they might not be too happy about. China is expected to buy a lot more factory products under this deal, more energy from the United States, more American services and, of course, more agricultural products. You know, farmers took a big hit during the trade war when China dialed back its purchases of American commodities. Kristin Duncanson, who raises soybeans in south central Minnesota, told me her crop lost at least a third of its value when China took its business elsewhere. So she's really hoping for some rebound¹² thanks to this phase one trade deal.

KRISTIN DUNCANSON: We're optimistic that signing the agreement will reopen some opportunities, especially for the upper Midwest. But I'm also a realist enough to know until those beans are actually shipped to customers that we can't count our chickens before they're hatched.

HORSLEY: I asked Duncanson if she's planning to plant more soybeans this spring in anticipation¹³ of bigger Chinese purchase orders. She told me she might shift some of her acreage in anticipation of that. But for the now, she's kind of in a wait-and-see mode.

GREENE: To see what the impact might be for her. The tariffs we've talked about - I mean, all the tariff⁵ threats, the tariffs going back and forth¹⁴ between the two countries, I mean, we should say a lot of Chinese goods are still going to be subject to import taxes here, right?

HORSLEY: That's right. Hundreds of billions of dollars in Chinese goods are still going to be hit with a 25% import tax. And that includes a lot of components¹⁵ that U.S. factories assemble into finished products. So that's been a challenge for the American manufacturing sector¹⁶. Factories have been in a slump¹⁷ since August. Syracuse economist¹⁸ Mary Lovely said that despite this phase one agreement, there's just not a lot of tariff relief on the horizon.

MARY LOVELY: There's been a lot of hurt all across the economy, and I don't think we've gotten much out of this. And it's my personal hope that we turn back to working with allies to make the sort of slow but steady progress that we need to make to improve this relationship over the longer term.

HORSLEY: And there was a quick step in that direction when the U.S. announced a deal with Japan and the European Union to challenge some Chinese subsidies¹⁹.

GREENE: NPR's Scott Horsley for us this morning. Scott, thanks.

HORSLEY: You're welcome.

1 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。

2 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

3 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。

4 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

5 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

6 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。

7 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。

8 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

9 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。

10 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

11 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

12 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

13 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

14 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。

15 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

16 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。

17 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

18 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

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》