2007年VOA标准英语-Democrats in Congress Are Doubtful About Free-T

By Bill Rodgers
Washington, DC
02 February 2007
 
watch US Trade Policy

 
President Bush wants the U.S. Congress to extend his so-called trade promotion¹ authority, which expires July first.  Also known as "fast track," it allows the president to submit trade deals to the House of Representatives and Senate for an up-or-down vote without amendments².  But with Congress under opposition³ Democratic Party control,  Mr. Bush may find it difficult to win approval for extending his trade authority, as well as a "yes" vote on future free-trade deals.  VOA's Bill Rodgers reports.

Even in the usually pro-business House Ways and Means Committee, newly ascendant Democrats⁵ are expressing skepticism over U.S. trade policy. 

Sandy Levin heads the trade subcommittee. "My own feeling is that we've had trade policies under this administration that have not been active enough, that have assumed that trade is an end in and of itself, that market forces will work themselves out -- that there really isn't a role for government."

Others on the committee are even more critical.  Democrat⁴ Stephanie Tubbs Jones represents a district in Ohio. "See, the people in Ohio, other than the people who have companies that are involved in the export business... [T]he people on the street, they don't want to hear anything about trade, because they can't seem to understand how it's going to help them improve their lot."

Democrats gained control of the Congress following the November elections, partly on promises to change U.S. trade and economic policies.  This was Sherrod Brown's strategy in Ohio. He won his Senate seat by appealing to workers worried about losing their jobs because of free trade deals.

Lawrence Mishel heads the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think-tank partly funded by American labor⁶ unions.  He says the free-trade era is over, now that the Democrats control Congress.  "I think one of the biggest changes we are going to see is that I don't think free, unencumbered further globalization, more free trade treaties, etcetera, are going to be given a green light without a serious look at what we can do to make globalization work better for working people in the United States as well as working people in other countries."

Congressional Democrats want stronger environmental and labor standards included in future trade agreements.  They say previous accords approved by Republican-controlled congresses did not adequately address these standards, allowing practices such as child labor and the suppression of labor unions to continue.

China is cited as an example by some lawmakers, including California Democrat Xavier Becerra, who compares trade to a boxing match. "Maybe China is playing by the rules in that boxing match when it has its industrial workers earning 60 to 65 cents an hour to produce steel or some other product, and then sends it over here to compete against steel made by Americans making 20, 22, 25 dollars an hour.  Maybe that's a really high wage there.  But if it is not, and that wage is constrained⁷ artificially by other things, [such as] compulsory⁸ labor, no institution to enforce their labor laws, then that's bad trade policy to allow those types of imports to come into this country."

But President Bush plans to continue to press his free trade agenda in the new Congress.  Visiting a Caterpillar⁹ tractor factory in Illinois this week, Mr. Bush warned against protectionism. "The temptation is to say, 'Well, trade may not be worth it.  Let's isolate¹⁰ ourselves.  Let's protect ourselves.'  I know it's a bad mistake for the country to lose our confidence and not compete."

Mr. Bush has called on Congress to renew his enhanced trade-negotiating authority.  The administration says this is necessary if the United States hopes to negotiate lower world tariffs¹¹ and reach bilateral¹² agreements with countries like South Korea.  But under the Democrats, Congress seems no longer willing to give Mr. Bush a blank check on trade.

1 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

2 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 constrained   

adj.束缚的,节制的

参考例句：

• The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服，他觉得不得不接受。
• I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。

8 compulsory   

n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的

参考例句：

• Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗？
• Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。

9 caterpillar   

n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫

参考例句：

• A butterfly is produced by metamorphosis from a caterpillar.蝴蝶是由毛虫脱胎变成的。
• A caterpillar must pass through the cocoon stage to become a butterfly.毛毛虫必须经过茧的阶段才能变成蝴蝶。

10 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

11 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。

12 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。