VOA慢速英语--贸易纠纷可能会影响美国波旁威士忌的销售

Trade Dispute Could Hurt Sales of US Bourbon

A trade dispute is growing between the United States and trading partners worldwide. One product that may feel the effects of the dispute is American bourbon whiskey.

The alcoholic¹ drink will soon face a tariff² put in place by several countries as a response to U.S. tariffs³ on steel and aluminum⁴ imports.

Paul Hletko launched Few Spirits 10 years ago. Today, the brand’s bourbon and other products are in demand here in the United States and overseas. It can be found in 35 countries and many American states. It is the number-one craft spirit in the United Kingdom.

But the real prize for Hletko is China, a country where U.S. spirit exports have gone up greatly in recent years.

That growth, however, could be under threat.

China’s proposed tariffs on bourbon, Hletko says, are 25 percent. That would make his and other American bourbon products “unnecessarily more expensive.”

The Distilled⁵ Spirits Council says U.S. exports have risen from $575 million in 1997 to $1.64 billion in 2017. But imposing⁶ new tariffs this year could affect those numbers.

Phil Flynn is a market expert with PRICE Futures⁷ Group. He says the decision by other countries to impose a tariff on bourbon is no mistake. It is, he says, “a symbol of America.”

Flynn says the tariff effect on bourbon sales overseas, especially in China, will not be as great as some may fear.

“It’s not like they are banning sales of these things,” he explains.

“It’s just going to be a little bit more expensive. Generally speaking, if you have a good quality product, and it comes from overseas, you are probably going to pay a little more.”

But Hletko says the tariff would greatly cut into his company’s yearly sales to China. He estimates that their current $150,000 in yearly sales to the country could be reduced to $5,000 to $10,000.

American jobs could also be cut. Hletko told VOA, “Making the grain, moving the grain, doing the boxes….everybody is benefiting from U.S. exports to China and I, for one, would like to see that continue to grow.”

His product also faces tariffs from the European Union and Mexico. What is now a possible loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars for Few Spirits this year could turn into millions of dollars of lost future profit if overseas consumers turn away from American bourbon, he said.

“We’re simply pawns⁹ in a political game, which is unfortunate," he added.

A game that Hletko says has no real winners in the end.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

tariff – n. tax on imports or exports

craft spirit – n. a special kind of alcoholic spirit usually produced by small companies

expensive – adj. costing a lot of money

consumer – n. person who buys goods and services

pawn⁸ – n. someone that can be used to carry out the will of another individual

unfortunate – adj. having bad luck

1 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

2 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。

3 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。

4 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

5 distilled   

adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )；从…提取精华

参考例句：

• The televised interview was distilled from 16 hours of film. 那次电视采访是从16个小时的影片中选出的精华。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gasoline is distilled from crude oil. 汽油是从原油中提炼出来的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

7 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

8 pawn   

n.典当，抵押，小人物，走卒；v.典当，抵押

参考例句：

• He is contemplating pawning his watch.他正在考虑抵押他的手表。
• It looks as though he is being used as a political pawn by the President.看起来他似乎被总统当作了政治卒子。

9 pawns   

n.（国际象棋中的）兵( pawn的名词复数 )；卒；被人利用的人；小卒v.典当，抵押( pawn的第三人称单数 )；以（某事物）担保

参考例句：

• The hostages are being used as political pawns. 人质正被用作政治卒子。
• The allies would fear that they were pawns in a superpower condominium. 这个联盟担心他们会成为超级大国共管的牺牲品。 来自《简明英汉词典》