VOA慢速英语--越南欲签署与欧洲的自由贸易协议

 

The government in Vietnam faces pressure from European lawmakers to improve its human rights record.

The rights issues are being raised at a time when European Union (EU) members are considering a free trade deal with the Southeast Asian nation.

The European Parliament recently sent its Subcommittee on Human Rights on a fact-finding trip to Vietnam. The committee called on Vietnamese officials to permit more debate about political rights and freedom of expression and religion.

The EU and Vietnam signed the free trade deal in December of 2015. However, the European Parliament and the legislatures of all EU members must approve the agreement for it to take effect.

That may be easier said than done.

Frederick Burke is with the law office of Baker¹ & McKenzie in Ho Chi Minh City. He noted², “They have this daunting³ prospect⁴ of having to go through 27 national assemblies to get anything ratified⁵.”

EU officials had sought the trade deal so European companies could easily do business with Vietnam and its market of 93 million people.

The EU also hopes the agreement will serve as a starting point for a free trade deal with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Vietnam is one of ASEAN’s 10 members.

Vietnam has been developing an export-driven economy. The country is seeking to diversify⁶ its markets and reduce dependence⁷ on China.

Future of Pacific free trade deal remains⁸ uncertain

Vietnam signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership⁹ (TPP) trade agreement with 11 other nations last year. The deal would have sharply cut import tariffs¹⁰ on Vietnamese products in Japan and the United States.

However, the future of the agreement is unclear. In January, the United States, under president Donald Trump¹², withdrew from the TPP.

Now, Vietnam is looking to increase trade with the European Union. The value of trade between the sides is estimated at $40 billion. The EU is already Vietnam’s third largest trading partner, after the U.S. and China.

Hoang Viet Phuong works at SSI Securities Service in Hanoi. She says Vietnam exports a lot of clothing and textile products to Europe. And she thinks the trade deal with the EU will help exports after the loss of the TPP.

The agreement would end almost all import tariffs between the two sides within seven years. It would also open Vietnam to European services, such as healthcare and packaging.

Activists¹³ demand greater attention to human rights

Nearly one year ago, the French group Worldwide Movement for Human Rights accused the EU of failing to study the effect the trade deal would have on rights.

Mauro Petriccione was the chief European negotiator. He said the deal included “strong commitments to protect people’s basic rights at work, their human rights more broadly, and the environment.”

But Fredrick Burke of Baker & McKenzie says Vietnam’s free trade agreement with the EU is not as strong on human rights as the TPP.

Burke said the TPP would have required changes to Vietnam’s labor¹⁴ laws, making them more supportive of labor unions. It also would have permitted fines on industries if pollution caused problems for trade. Violators would face extra tariffs.

“The EU FTA (free trade agreement) was not drafted as clearly as the TPP,” he said. “The language is not as self-enforcing. It relies more on goodwill¹⁵ and people willing to do things.”

Vietnam has faced criticism from rights groups for its record on free speech, labor rights and other issues.

The New York-based group Human Rights Watch says Vietnamese officials threaten and imprison¹⁶ bloggers and political activists. It also says workers cannot form unions and farmers risk losing land to development projects.

Another group, Open Doors, estimates there are 8 million Christians¹⁷ in Vietnam. But it says these people are sometimes arrested because the government sees religion as “being tied to foreign powers.”

The head of the European subcommittee spoke¹⁸ about human rights in Vietnam. He said without meeting Europe’s conditions on human rights, ratification¹⁹ of the trade deal would be difficult.

Words in This Story

daunting –n. difficult to deal with, not easy

prospect – n. the possibility that something might take place

ratify²⁰ – v. to officially sign and approve a treaty

diversify – v. to increase the different kinds of goods that are offered for sale

tariff¹¹ – n. a tax on goods coming into or leaving a country

1 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

4 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。

5 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

6 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

7 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 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。

10 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。

11 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。

12 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。

13 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》

14 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。

15 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

16 imprison   

vt.监禁，关押，限制，束缚

参考例句：

• The effect of this one is going to imprison you for life.而这件事的影响力则会让你被终身监禁。
• Dutch colonial authorities imprisoned him for his part in the independence movement.荷兰殖民当局因他参加独立运动而把他关押了起来。

17 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

18 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

19 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。

20 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。