商务英语阅读_第二版_王关富_unit_11_

Unit 11

Among the Fringers

Exercises

1.Answer the questions on the text:

1) Quebec Trade Summit was held in Quebec City from April 20 to April 22, 2001. Leaders of the 34 Western Hemisphere countries made a declaration during the Summit calling on the Summit countries to conclude negotiations on a Free Trade Area of the Americas by 2005. The Hemispheric Social Alliance organized the “People’s Summit”that was strongly against the Quebec Trade Summit. During the Summit, some security measures had to be taken to safeguard such an international gathering. The author here suggested that tear gas might be used to disperse the protesters.

2) The author knew very well that the “People’s Summit” attendees were those “from the far-left to the farther-left” and they were all opposed to free trade. To choose the lesser evil or to get a clearer picture of the activists, the author decided to interview those with less radical ideas, probably those activists with fewer body piercings.

3) A Japanese soldier isolated on a Pacific island during World War II had no idea of Japan’s unconditional surrender. The author was saying that people on the streets of Quebec didn’t realize what had happened in the world and they just turned a blind eye to the achievements trade liberalization had made.

4) It is true that both the World Trade Organization and its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, have somewhat reduced trade barriers over the years. However, some events of great significance occurred without the influence of international institutions. A case in point is China’s economic reform program. Globalization is an irreversibly developing trend and the idea of economic freedom has been embraced by most countries in the world. Therefore, international institutions may just have a modest impact on globalization.

5) According to the author, the success of diversion and appeasement was associated with a number of factors that do not exist now. The end of the Cold War, the spread of globalization and the awareness of the significance of unilateral trade liberalization all contribute to the fact that the strategy of diversion and appeasement is no longer workable in terms of free trade promotion.

6) Many supporters of trade are opposed to unilateral liberalization because they believe that although open domestic markets are good, it is preferable to open all markets at once. The author argues that it is absolutely unrealistic for all countries to open their markets all at once since open domestic markets need the right political atmosphere and no country can be forced to drop their trade barriers. Theoretically, however, the idea of open markets as a concession does not hold water and a country always benefits so long as it opens its domestic market.

7) One feature of the WTO dispute settlement is that it has the ability to impose sanctions against a non-complying country, which is against the idea of trade reciprocity and liberalization that the WTO is committed to. A better idea, according to the author, is that the plaintiff country relies on “compensation” rather than on any sanctions. Instead of imposing sanctions on the losing parties, the WTO dispute settlement mechanism may require them to drop some trade barriers as