2006年VOA标准英语-Collapse of WTO Talks Hampers APEC Free Trade G

By Heda Bayron
Hong Kong
08 November 2006

As the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meet in Vietnam next week, questions have been raised whether the grouping can meet its free trade goal four years from now. The collapse¹ of the global trade negotiations² under the World Trade Organization (WTO) is putting pressure on APEC to take the trade liberalization agenda forward.

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APEC members agreed 12 years ago to create a free-trade zone that spans the Pacific beginning by 2010. But progress has been uneven³. Some governments are clinging to trade barriers to protect certain sectors⁴, such as agriculture, from foreign competition.

The slow progress has led some APEC members to negotiate preferential agreements with their major trading partners. Others - such as Southeast Asian nations, Japan, South Korea and China - have started forming their own free trade zones.

However, trade experts say these arrangements create exclusionary⁵ trade blocs⁶, defeating APEC's goal of expanding trade among its 21 members.

And they say the collapse this year of negotiations on the World Trade Organization's Doha agenda of trade liberalization does not help APEC's goals of liberalizing trade.

In a report issued a month before the summit, the APEC Business Advisory⁷ Council (ABAC) called on APEC leaders to re-evaluate their WTO positions and push to advance negotiations. Talks have been stalled largely by disagreements over how much developed economies, such as the United States and the European Union, should cut farm subsidies⁸, and how much developing economies should open their markets.

Tran Thien Cuong, the business council's executive director, based in Hanoi, says the WTO talks are critical to the economic development of many APEC members. Stalling liberalization, he says, will hurt economies that need foreign markets for their goods.

"Its effect to the whole economy in the region would be very bad,” he said.  “We hope that with the political jolt⁹ from strong members in APEC we can revitalize the Doha negotiations."

But can APEC help push the global trade agenda?

APEC, which is holding its annual summit and ministerial meetings in Hanoi this month, groups most countries of the Pacific rim¹⁰. It includes some of the world's biggest economies, such as the United States and China, and many of the region's developing economies, such as Mexico and Indonesia.

Most of its members are major trade powerhouses - particularly in Asia, where most economies are based on export industries.

As more and more APEC countries negotiate preferential trade deals, experts say it is putting pressure on the rest to follow. Singapore, for instance, has at least 10 free trade agreements, including deals with its major trading partners - the United States, Japan and European Union.

Tran says the proliferation of these agreements has made business costly¹¹ and more complex, adding layers of paperwork for trade transactions.

Instead of having standardized¹² rules under the WTO, bilateral¹³ agreements produce different sets of requirements for trade to different countries.

Mark Thirlwell, an international economy expert at the Lowy Institute, a private policy group in Australia, says APEC could play an important role in solving such problems.

"There is a need for some kind of regional organization to come in and oversee¹⁴, sort of smooth out inconsistencies, try to make a more coherent policy,” he said.  “The big advantage that APEC has of course is that it gets the United States in there. The United States is an overwhelmingly important trading partner for East Asia."

Some experts and business executives say it is time for APEC to adopt the proposed Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific that would encompass¹⁵ all APEC members and consolidate¹⁶ all existing bilateral and regional arrangements. It would create one of the world's largest trading blocs, representing about 60 percent of the world economy.

Thirlwell says those outside APEC would be marginalized, which could prompt them to revitalize the WTO negotiations.

"Because it would be such a big grouping it would encourage others outside APEC, particularly the Europeans, to be proactive within the Doha round," he added.

But experts warn that such a big entity¹⁷ could face the same obstacles that slowed the WTO talks - such as the reluctance¹⁸ of some members to open up politically sensitive markets.

With only four years to go before APEC's free trade deadline, experts and business executives say APEC leaders in Hanoi need to deliver on their promises to increase trade, or risk slowing all efforts to increase world commerce.

1 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

2 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。

3 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

4 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 exclusionary   

adj.排斥（性）的，排除在外的

参考例句：

• Play not finish, uncle fidgeting, cut exclusionary. 戏未演完，叔父坐立不安，仓皇退席。 来自互联网
• Procecutor: I am asking you to recognize the absurdity of the exclusionary rule. 检察官：我是在请求您认识到这个排除规则的荒谬性。 来自互联网

6 blocs   

n.集团，联盟( bloc的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The division of Europe into warring blocs produces ever-increasing centrifugal stress. 把欧洲分为作战集团产生了越来越大的离心效果。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The policy of the two blocs was played out. 把世界分为两个集团的政策已经过时了。 来自辞典例句

7 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

8 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》

9 jolt   

v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸

参考例句：

• We were worried that one tiny jolt could worsen her injuries.我们担心稍微颠簸一下就可能会使她的伤势恶化。
• They were working frantically in the fear that an aftershock would jolt the house again.他们拼命地干着，担心余震可能会使房子再次受到震动。

10 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

11 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

12 standardized   

adj.标准化的

参考例句：

• We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
• The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。

13 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

14 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

15 encompass   

vt.围绕，包围；包含，包括；完成

参考例句：

• The course will encompass physics,chemistry and biology.课程将包括物理、化学和生物学。
• The project will encompass rural and underdeveloped areas in China.这项工程将覆盖中国的农村和不发达地区。

16 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

17 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

18 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。