Some Trade Issues Divide US, Canada

By Andre de Nesnera

Trade is the most important component¹ of U.S.-Canada relations. Each country is the other's biggest trading customer. Eighty-four percent of Canada's exports go the United States and Canada buys more than 70 percent of its imports from its neighbor.

So it was no surprise that when President Bush visited Canada, trade issues - and especially contentious² trade issues - were high on the agenda in discussions with Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Charles Doran is Director of Canadian Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He says one major disagreement between the two countries deals with Washington's tariffs³ on the import of Canadian softwood lumber⁴, such as pine. "There is a huge amount of trade in lumber between Canada and the United States. Canadians sell a large amount, billions of dollars, and the argument has been on the part of a small group of producers in the United States that Canada has subsidized this. Now the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and the World Trade Organization, in dispute resolution panels, have denied that there is unfair subsidy⁵. But in fact, every President for some time has been unable to unravel⁶ the legal challenges and so on, to get rid of that issue," he says.

Following the Bush-Martin meeting, the softwood lumber issue remains⁷ unresolved.

Professor Doran says another problem stems from the US action to ban beef imports from Canada because of mad cow disease. "There was one cow found in Alberta with this disease, but the consequence of that has been enormous in the sense that trade for beef, for the United States and Canada has been affected⁸ and third markets like Japan and Europe. They are trying to get around this problem. They are trying to establish common standards, but it's hard to believe, it's almost hard to imagine how one cow could cause that much catastrophe⁹ to this industry in North America."

Canadian statistics indicate that the 18-month ban has cost the Canadian beef industry more than $4 billion in lost revenues. That issue, too, still remains to be solved following the Bush-Martin summit.

Tied to those two trade issues, is the question of security along the Canadian-American border - at nearly 9,000 kilometers the world's longest undefended frontier. Both countries have stepped up cooperation in the security field, especially after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Kim Nossel, Director of Political Studies at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, says Americans and Canadians are approaching the border security issue from different angles. "From the American perspective, there is the concern about the porousness¹⁰ of that long, undefended border and the ease with which one could in fact get across the border. From a Canadian perspective, the major concern is an absolute fear that there will be a terrorist incident in the United States that will openly and manifestly have come from Canada, that will lead to, essentially¹¹, a closing of the border. And of course that border and the openness of that border is absolutely crucial for Canadian wealth."

Experts say Ottawa and Washington have to find a delicate balance between the free flow of commerce and legitimate¹² security concerns.

Gill Troy is a U.S.-Canada expert at McGill University in Montreal. He says despite various disagreements between the two countries, one overriding¹³ issue must be kept in mind. "Even if there is an agreement to disagree, even if the United States says: 'look, we can't do this because of internal constituency pressures or external trade pressures,' the awareness¹⁴ that nevertheless, while we might part on some issues, we are still fundamentally friends, we are still fundamentally linked in so many ways - economically, ideologically¹⁵, intellectually, culturally, socially - is important."

Experts agree that President Bush's trip to Canada was an attempt to improve relations between the two countries - relations that were strained in recent years, during the tenure¹⁶ of Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien. Analysts¹⁷ say based on the recent Bush-Martin meeting, things are looking up.

Andre de Nesnera, VOA news, Washington.
注释：
component 组成，构成
contentious 有争议的
agenda 议程
softwood lumber 软木材
subsidize 资助
unresolved 未解决的
Ontario 安大略湖
porousness 多处漏洞
manifestly 明白地
Montreal 蒙特利尔
constituency 购买者，顾客

1 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

2 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

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 lumber   

n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动

参考例句：

• The truck was sent to carry lumber.卡车被派出去运木材。
• They slapped together a cabin out of old lumber.他们利用旧木料草草地盖起了一间小屋。

5 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。

6 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

7 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。

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

9 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

10 porousness   

多孔性

参考例句：

11 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

12 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

13 overriding   

a.最主要的

参考例句：

• Development is of overriding importance. 发展是硬道理
• My overriding concern is to raise the standards of state education. 我最关心的是提高国民教育水平。

14 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

15 ideologically   

adv. 意识形态上地，思想上地

参考例句：

• Ideologically, they have many differences. 在思想意识上，他们之间有许多不同之处。
• He has slipped back ideologically. 他思想退步了。

16 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

17 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。