最新第10课-更自由的贸易外刊经贸知识选读-每课重要知识点-串讲-课文翻译

第10课关于关贸总协定和世界贸易组织

Freer Trade, with Luck自由贸易，一路走好

1.In the past few days differences between the United States and the European Community on farm trade have narrowed almost to nothing. As a result the world is now close to concluding the Uruguay round of GATT talks. That deal is admittedly far from perfect, a series of messy compromises The cause of free trade will have many more battles to fight. Never mind. On a conservative estimate the Uruguay round would permanently raise global welfare by more than $100 billion a year, spur economic growth everywhere (especially in the world’s poorest countries) and extend competition to hither to sheltered, and therefore backward, parts off all economies. By any standards, it would be a hugely valuable achievement.

Cause----aim, principle or movement that is strongly defended or supported 极力维护或支持的目标﹑原则或运动; 事业: a good cause, ie one that deserves to be supported, eg a charity 高尚的目标（应为之尽力的目标, 如慈善事业）* He fought for the republican cause in the civil war. 他在内战中为共和事业而战. * Her life was devoted to the cause of justice. 她为正义事业而献身.

在过去的几天中，美国同欧共体之间有关农产品贸易的分歧几乎荡然无存。因此，关贸总协议乌拉圭回合的谈判现已接近尾声。诚然，协议远不够完善，仅是对一系列棘手问题的妥协。争取自由贸易的事业还有许多仗要打。不过，不必担心。依据保守的估计，乌拉圭回合协议将持久地每年为全球增加1,000多亿美元的财富。而且，还会刺激各国的经济增长（尤其是世界上最贫困的国家）。同时，它将贸易竞争扩展到那些迄今仍坚持保护主义政策并因此而落后的国家。无论依据何种标准衡量，这都是一个价值巨大的成就。

2. Such opportunities come too rarely to be squandered. Yet this one still may be. In the most recent talks about farm trade, America has shown a new willingness to compromise on details, doubtless ref lecting George Bush’s need for an economic success to boast of in his election campaign. Whatever the motive a spirit of compromise makes sense for America, since it stands to gain a lot more from a successful round than any other country. But the EC continues to hesitate—because of France. French farmers are violently opposed to the reform of the common agricultural policy(CAP) that Europe’s government agreed to last May.In certain respects, the farmers claim, the GATT deal now in prospect would take reform further, damaging their interests even more.

这样的机会不容错过。然而，这次机会仍差点被错过。最近，在有关农产品贸易的谈判中，美方多次表示愿意在细节问题上做出妥协。这无疑反应了布什总统需要一个经济成果，以便在大选中吹嘘。不管动机如何，做出妥协这一主导思想对美国是有意义的，因为谈判的成功给美国带来的利益要远大于其他任何国家。但是，由于法国的原因，欧共体仍旧犹豫不决。法国农民强烈反对改革欧洲各国政府于去年五月通过的共同农业政策。他们声称，在某些方面，正在酝酿中的关贸

总协定的协议会将改革进一步深人，因而给他们的利益造成更大损害。

3. If it is a small matter to France’s that the Uruguay round should fail, so long as they keep their subsidies, that is understandable. What is shameful is that their government appears to agree with them, even though most of the French economy (including many of the country’s more efficient farmers) would gain handsomely from a successful round. Jean-Pierre Soisson, the farm minister, has said France may block the EC’s acceptance of a new farm-trade deal, and thereby wreck the round. This position is politically alarming as well as economically indefensible. Other EC governments must see off France, and start hailing a gain for liberal trade.

如果说对于法国农民来讲，只要能保住他们补贴，乌拉圭回合谈判的失败仅是小事一桩的话，那是可以理解的。令人汗颜的是，虽然法国经济的主体（包括该国有竞争力的农场主在内）会从谈判的成功中获得丰厚的利益，法国政府似乎仍赞同他们的意见。法国农业部长琼·皮埃尔·索思森说，法国政府会阻止欧共体接受这一新的农产品贸易协议，从而破坏乌拉圭回合谈判。这一立场，从政治角度讲，是令人担忧的，从经济角度讲，是站不住脚的。其他欧共体国家的政府必须遏制住法国，然后开始为自由贸易取得进展而欢呼。

He carries his heart in his boots 谈判过程令人焦虑

4. Disputes over farm trade have bedeviled the current round of GATT talks from the start. That is unsurprising. For decades governments everywhere have suppressed market forces in agriculture with subsidies, tariffs, quotas, monopoly purchasing boards and all the other paraphernalia of mule-headed intervention. No industry in the world has been pushed further, or so needlessly, from the liberal ideal of guiding resources to their best use by means of prices set in markets. On one plausible estimate, consumers in industrial countries pay $300 billion a year in taxes and higher prices to support farming. Even allowing for the income transferred to farmers, the net welfare loss caused by the industrial countries’ farm policies is $10 billion a year. Distortions on such a scale have given a comparative handful of people every reason to fight to the bitter end for economic lunacy. On October 14th French farmers held another “day of action”—blocking roads, planting wheat in awkward places and so forth—in protest at the planned reforms.

农产品贸易争端从一开始就困扰着这一轮的关贸总协定谈判。这并不足为奇。几十年来，各国政府通过补贴、关税、配额、统购及其相关政策顽固地干预和压制市场力量。世界上没有一种产业曾被迫远离或无谓地偏离这一自由贸易理想，即通过市场定价将资源配置到最能发挥效用的地方。根据一项可靠估计，工业国的消费者每年通过付税和高价的形式支付3,000亿美元以支持农业。即使将转支给农民的这笔收人考虑在内，由工业国的农业政策所引起的财富净损失每年也达到1，000亿美元。经济扭曲的程度如此之大使相当一部分人有充分的理由去为结束这种荒谬的经济行为而奋斗。10月14日，法国农民又举行了“行动日”活动——封锁街道、将麦子种在不合理的地方等等，以反对计划中的改革。

5. What exactly are those reforms? The benchmark remains the scheme set out by Arthur Dunkel, the GATT’s director-general, in 1991.On cereals, where Europe and America have squabbled most fiercely, Mr.Dunkel suggested cuts of 20% in the value of the CAP’s production subsidies, 36% in the value of its export subsidies, and 24% in the volume of its subsidized exports. America said it would settle for nothing less.