上海通用被中国处以反垄断罚款

 　　BEIJING — General Motors’s main joint¹ venture in China was fined $29 million on Friday on charges that it suppressed competition by enforcing minimum sales prices for dealers². It is the latest in a string of penalties against non-Chinese auto³ brands under the country’s antimonopoly law.

　　北京——通用汽车(General Motors)在中国的主要合资企业上周五被处以2900万美元的罚款，原因是对经销商设定最低限价，阻碍了竞争。这是中国依据反垄断法对非中国汽车品牌施以一连串惩罚的最新一起。

　　Chinese regulators have punished companies in several industries, likemilk and medical devices, under the 2008 law in what appears to be an effort to force down consumer prices.

　　这部反垄断法制定于2008年，其目的似乎是压低消费物价，中国的监管机构以它为依据，已经对乳业和医疗设备等几个行业的企业进行了惩处。

　　G.M. had announced in August 2014 that Shanghai G.M., its joint venture with the state-owned Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, was under investigation⁴ by antimonopoly regulators.

　　通用汽车于2014年8月宣布，它与国有上海汽车的合资企业上汽通用公司正在接受反垄断监管机构的调查。

　　The Shanghai Price Bureau said that Shanghai G.M. improperly⁶ hurt competition by enforcing minimum prices dealers were allowed to charge for Cadillac, Chevrolet and Buick models.

　　上海市物价局称，该公司设定经销商销售凯迪拉克、雪佛兰和别克一些车型的最低价格，阻碍了竞争。

　　That “disrupted the normal order of market competition,” said a statement by the price bureau.

　　物价局表示，这种做法“扰乱了正常的市场竞争秩序”。

　　Setting minimum retail⁷ prices is a common practice in many markets, but lawyers say Chinese regulators appear to regard it as an improper⁵ restraint on competition.

　　设定最低销售价格的做法在很多市场都是惯例，但律师们表示，中国监管机构似乎认为这是对竞争的不当约束。

　　The price bureau’s statement said the penalty was set at 4 percent of Shanghai G.M.’s annual sales, or 201 million yuan, about $29 million.

　　物价局的声明称，对该公司处以上一年销售额4%的罚款，共计人民币2.01亿元。

　　G.M. vies with Volkswagen for the status of the top-selling vehicle brand in China.

　　通用正在和大众争夺中国最畅销汽车品牌的地位。

　　Sales of G.M. vehicles in China are up 8.5 percent so far this year, to 3.4 million.

　　通用汽车今年在中国的销量到目前为止增长了8.5%，达340万辆。

　　“G.M. fully⁸ respects local laws and regulations wherever we operate,” the company said in a statement. “We will provide full support to our joint venture in China to ensure that all responsive and appropriate actions are taken with respect to this matter.”

　　“通用汽车完全尊重营业所在地的法规，”公司在一份声明中表示。“我们将对在华合资企业提供全力支持，以确保合资企业针对此事采取相应的适当举措。”

　　President-elect Donald J. Trump⁹ has criticized Chinese trade practices, but there was no indication the case was linked to that.

　　候任总统唐纳德?J?特朗普(Donald J. Trump)批评过中国在贸易上的做法，但没有迹象表明这个案件与其有关。

　　Audi, Volkswagen’s luxury unit, was fined $40.5 million, and Fiat¹⁰ Chrysler Automobiles’ Chrysler brand received a smaller penalty in 2014 on similar charges of enforcing minimum sales prices.

　　大众汽车的豪华品牌奥迪被罚款4050万美元，菲亚特克莱斯勒汽车公司(Fiat Chrysler Automobiles)的克莱斯勒品牌曾因限制最低销售价格，在2014年遭受了类似处罚，不过罚款金额较少。

　　State media cited an official saying Daimler Benz’s Mercedes unit was guilty of violations¹¹, but no penalty was announced. Toyota Motor Corporation said its Lexus unit was under scrutiny¹², but no results have been announced.

　　官方媒体引用一个官员的说法，称戴姆勒奔驰(Daimler Benz)的奔驰品牌也有违规，但没有宣布具体惩罚措施。丰田汽车公司(Toyota Motor Corporation)表示，其雷克萨斯品牌正在接受审查，但尚未宣布结果。

　　The industrywide investigation began in 2014 after complaints of foreign auto brands abusing their control over supplies of spare parts to overcharge consumers. In the case of Mercedes, regulators said purchasing the spare parts needed to assemble one car would cost as much as 12 new vehicles.

　　2014年，中国开始进行全行业的调查，之前有投诉称外国汽车品牌利用它们对配件供应的控制权，向消费者收取过高费用。监管机构表示，更换某款奔驰轿车所有配件的花费可购买12辆新车。

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

3 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

6 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

7 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

10 fiat   

n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布

参考例句：

• The opening of a market stall is governed by municipal fiat.开设市场摊位受市政法令管制。
• He has tried to impose solutions to the country's problems by fiat.他试图下令强行解决该国的问题。

11 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

12 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。