翻译硕士考研者,在暑期阶段需要看双语阅读文章,来提升阅读水平和翻译能力。下面,北京文都考研网为助力翻译硕士学子们在备考上一臂之力,整理了MTI双语阅读精选文章:以牙还牙贸易战升温不止,供考生参考。
2020考研MTI双语阅读精选:以牙还牙贸易战升温不止
ANOTHER week, a further ratcheting up of trade tensions between America and China. On September 17th President Donald Trump announced that he had approved a further wave of tariffs on Chinese imports. From September 24th, imports of products which in 2017 were worth as much as $189bn, including furniture, computers and car parts, will be hit with duties of 10%. The Chinese have promised to retaliate on the same day with duties on $60bn of American exports. Unless peace breaks out before the new year, the American rate will increase to 25% on January 1st.
又过了一周,中美贸易紧张局势进一步升级。9月17日,唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)总统宣布,他已批准对中国进口商品征收新一轮关税。从9月24日起,对2017年价值高达1890亿美元的进口产品,包括家具、电脑和汽车零部件,加征10%的关税。中国此前承诺会同一天对美国600亿美元的出口产品报复加征关税。除非2019年新年会有缓和之势,否则美国利率将在1月1日上升到25%。
Mr Trump frequently rants about how the Chinese have long taken advantage of Americans. But American bureaucrats stress that the duties come after careful deliberation. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) took seven months to write a report detailing China’s unfair trade practices. Each tranche of tariffs has been consulted on and then revised. The latest set came after the USTR’s office had received 6,000 written submissions and held six days of hearings.
特朗普经常大谈中国人长期以来占美国人的便宜。不过,美国官员强调,这些关税是经过深思熟虑后才决定。美国贸易代表办公室(USTR)用7个月的时间撰写一份报告,详细介绍了中国不公平的贸易做法。每一个产品关税都经过了磋商,然后修订而成。此前,美国贸易代表办公室收到了6000份书面材料,并举行了为期六天的听证会。
Compared with an earlier proposal, the latest tariff list excludes products worth up to $30bn. Child-safety seats and safety headgear were exempted. Antiques more than a century old were spared, too. (Some had pointed out that the Chinese government restricted their export anyway.) Despite Mr Trump’s warning on September 8th that prices of products made by Apple may increase as a result of his tariffs, smartwatches and bluetooth devices were removed from the list.
与早先的提议相比,较新的关税列表排除了300亿美元的产品。儿童安全座椅和安全帽均得到豁免。超过百年的文物也幸免于“税”。(有人指出中国政府一直限制这些文物出口。)尽管特朗普在9月8日警告称,由于关税原因,苹果的产品价格可能会上涨,但智能手表和蓝牙设备不在关税名单里。
The Trump administration claims that these deliberations have helped to minimise the impact on the American consumer. The staggered tariff rate is supposed to give importers time to change their suppliers. Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, was mocked online for claiming that, because the tariffs are spread over thousands of products, “nobody’s going to actually notice it at the end of the day”. But in support of his claim, economists at Goldman Sachs, a bank, estimate that the 10% tariff rate will boost inflation by only around 0.03 percentage points, and the increase to 25% by a further 0.05 next year.
特朗普政府声称,这些经过细致准备的加税决定将对美国消费者的影响降至最低。延迟叠加的关税税率应该给进口商更换商品供应商的时间。美国商务部长威尔伯•罗斯(Wilbur Ross)称,由于加征关税的产品数以千计,“最终没有人会真正注意到它”,却在网络上遭讥讽。不过,高盛银行的经济学家支持他的观点,估计10%的税率只会使通货膨胀率0.03个百分点,而明年将会进一步到25%,上涨0.05个百分点。
Still, this diligence was not welcomed by all. More than three-quarters of the products that will be affected on September 24th are intermediate and capital goods, which means the most immediate impact will be to push up American businesses’ costs. Mr Trump’s announcement triggered complaints from industry representatives including the US Chamber of Commerce, the American Chemistry Council and the American Apparel and Footwear Association, all of which warned that Americans would end up footing the tariff bill, and pleaded for a different approach.
然而,这种不断加征关税的行为并没有受到所有人的欢迎。在9月24日受到影响的产品中,有超过四分之三是中间产品和资本产品,这意味着最直接的影响将是推高美国企业的成本。特朗普的声明引发了包括美国商会(US Chamber of Commerce)、美国化学理事会(American Chemistry Council)和美国服装与鞋类协会(American Apparel and Footwear Association)在内的行业组织的不满。这些组织均发出警告,称美国人最终将为关税法案埋单,并请求一个全新的政策。
Although it claims to be following due process, the Trump administration’s actions are far removed from the procedures of the rules-based global trading system. Ordinarily, members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) would take their complaints to the body’s judges. If such accusation are upheld, then those judges allow limited retaliation.
尽管特朗普政府声称正在遵循正当程序,但它的行动与基于规则的全球贸易体系的程序相去甚远。通常情况下,世界贸易组织(WTO)的成员会向该组织的法官提出申诉。如果这种指控得到支持,那么法官就会允许一定的报复措施。
In 2012, for example, the American government complained to the WTO that the Chinese government was breaking the rules by restricting the export of rare-earth elements. China’s dominance in their global supply meant that this hurt American manufacturers by pushing up prices for their inputs. After the WTO’s judges sided with the Americans, the Chinese government dropped the measures.
例如,在2012年,美国政府向世贸组织投诉中国政府限制稀土元素出口,违反了WTO规则。由于中国在全球稀土供应中的主导地位,限制出口意味着将推高美国制造商的成本价格,损害他们的利益。WTO法官站最终在美国一边后,中国政府停止限制出口。
The Trump administration claims that the WTO’s incomplete rule book makes it incapable of dealing with China’s alleged misdemeanours, which include forcing foreign companies to hand over their technology. But, even as it complains, America is simultaneously weakening the system by which the WTO’s rules are enforced, by blocking the appointment of judges to the body’s court of appeals. From October, only three will be left—the minimum needed to rule on a case.
特朗普政府声称,世贸组织规则不完善,不能处理中国所谓的“不端行为”——包括强迫外国企业转交技术。但是,就在美国抱怨的同时,美国否决了世贸组织的上诉法院的法官任命,削弱了世贸组织规则的执行体系。从10月开始,世贸组织上诉法院只剩3个法官——是裁决案件的最低人数要求。
On September 18th Cecilia Malmström, the European Union’s trade commissioner, unveiled a “concept paper” outlining reforms that could plug some of the gaps in the WTO’s rules, as well as ways to reform dispute settlement. But it is far from clear whether either Mr Trump or the Chinese government will take the bait.
9月18日,欧盟贸易专员塞西莉亚•马尔姆斯特罗姆(Cecilia Malmstrom)公布了一份“概念文件”,概述了能够弥补世贸组织规则漏洞的改革措施,以及改革争端解决机制的方法。不过,仍然不清楚的是,中美政府是否会再次陷入贸易战之中。
And without the multilateral rules-based system to contain the conflict, the trade war between China and America could get much bloodier. In his announcement on September 17th Mr Trump threatened to hit another $267bn-worth of Chinese imports if China retaliated against his latest tranche of tariffs. For their part, the Chinese show little sign of backing down, and have promised to use fiscal policy to soften any domestic blow.
如果没有以规则为基础的多边体系来遏制冲突,中美之间的贸易战可能会更加激烈。在9月17日的声明中,特朗普威胁称,如果中国对他最新的一次加征关税行为予以报复,将再次对2670亿美元的中国进口商品加征关税。就中国而言,中国几乎没有退让的迹象,并承诺使用财政政策来缓解对中国国内的冲击。
Although they are running out of American exports to target, they have other ways to fight. On September 17th, for example, reports emerged of a Chinese official musing about China repeating its trick of imposing export restrictions on raw materials that American manufacturers depend on. The next day, Craig Allen, chairman of the US-China Business Council, warned that the WTO had made clear its opinion that such restrictions were illegal. But why, when America is acting outside the rule book, should others stick to it?
尽管中国对美国出口产品关税策略用尽,却还有其它反对手段。例如,9月17日,有报道称一名中国官员在对美国制造商所依赖的原材料实施出口限制的伎俩上深思熟虑。次日,美中贸易全国委员会(US-China Business Council)主席克雷格•艾伦(Craig Allen)警告称,WTO已明确表示,此类限制是非法的。但是,当美国在规则之外行动时,为什么其它国家还要坚持所谓的规则呢?
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