VOA常速英语2008年-WTO Report: World Trade Grows, But Slows

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
17 April 2008

The World Trade Organization's (WTO) annual report finds world-trade growth slowed to 5.5 percent in 2007 from 8.5 percent the year before.   WTO predicts global trade growth will continue to slow this year.   Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from the launch of the WTO report in Geneva.

The World Trade Organization says the global financial crisis is having a negative impact on world trade.  But, it says the results are uneven¹, with the wealthier countries generally doing worse than the poorer countries.

The report notes the steam has gone out of the U.S. economy, which it says has lost its position as the engine of global growth.  

The report says the financial market turbulence² has considerably³ reduced economic growth projections⁴ for some major developed markets and has clouded the prospects⁵ for world trade in 2008.   It says the U.S. sub-prime mortgage and banking⁶ crises are likely to further depress global trade growth.

It expects economic growth in the United States will be flat this year and will have repercussions⁷ elsewhere, especially in Europe later in the year.

WTO Senior Economist⁸, Michael Finger, tells VOA the strength of the oil and commodity prices is another worrying factor.

"The oil importing countries will have to adjust to the much higher cost of energy and this erodes⁹ the purchasing power of consumers and increases the cost for business and this is will have a further adverse¹⁰ affect," he said.  "To some extent this already is cooperated in our calculations and so we expect that world merchandise trade in real terms will expand only by 4.5 percent this year, which is the lowest growth since 2002." 

The WTO reports world trade will continue to slow markedly in 2008, but not all regions will suffer.  It notes Mexico and Canada, which are closest to the United States, will feel the brunt of the slowdown.  But repercussions will be smaller among European countries that trade with each other.

The report says the European transitional economies, such as Russia, are showing strong growth, as are Central and South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.   It notes the most populous¹¹ developing countries, China and India reported outstandingly high economic growth last year.

Finger says even Africa is doing better than the developed countries, with economic growth rates of about five percent.

"Africa, the region as a whole, is a huge net exporter of fuels," he added.  "So, quite a number of African counties have export revenues, which doubled over the last three years.  But, of course, there are also countries in Africa which are net importers of energy, net importers of food and these countries are suffering from the high prices of energy and food." 

WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy acknowledges the global economy is going through an uncertain and difficult period.  But, he warns protectionist policies surfacing in some countries are no solution to these problems.  He says a reinforced trading system is an essential anchor for economic stability and development.

1 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。

2 turbulence   

n.喧嚣，狂暴，骚乱，湍流

参考例句：

• The turbulence caused the plane to turn over.空气的激流导致飞机翻转。
• The world advances amidst turbulence.世界在动荡中前进。

3 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

4 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。

5 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

6 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

7 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

9 erodes   

侵蚀，腐蚀( erode的第三人称单数 )； 逐渐毁坏，削弱，损害

参考例句：

• The sea erodes the rock. 海水侵蚀岩石。
• The sea erodes the land. 海洋侵蚀陆地。

10 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

11 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。