买美国货 雇美国人的弊端

 　　Apart from free trade, there can be few issues on which public opinion and the views of economists¹ differ more than on forcing companies and the public sector² to buy locally and hire locally.

　　除了自由贸易以外，几乎没有什么问题能比强迫企业和公共部门采购国货、雇用国人更能引起公众舆论及经济学家观点的分歧了。

　　The last time the US government embarked³ on a big fiscal⁴ stimulus⁵ with an investment component⁶, Barack Obama’s 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the decision to include so-called Buy American provisions to direct contracts to US companies was a hard-fought battle. Similarly, US work permits and particularly the H-1B visa for skilled workers have proved to be highly controversial among US workers in the tech sector, where their use is concentrated, and in Congress.

　　上次美国政府实施包含投资的大规模财政刺激方案是在2009年，巴拉克?奥巴马(Barack Obama)出台了《美国复苏与再投资法案》(American Recovery and Reinvestment Act)，当时要纳入所谓“买美国货”(Buy American)的条款、以使合同落入美国企业之手就经过了一场硬仗。同样，美国工作许可制度、特别是面向高技能人才发放的H-1B签证，不管在美国科技行业从业者中间（拿这类签证的人大多从事科技行业）还是在美国国会中都极具争议。

　　Predictably, given its appeal to economic nationalists, Donald Trump⁷ has waded⁸ into this issue by launching a review of buying and hiring American, accompanied by fiery⁹ rhetoric¹⁰ about keeping jobs at home. In theory, an overhaul¹¹ of both policies, particularly the short-term H-1B work visa, could yield some efficiency-enhancing improvements. In practice, given Mr Trump’s record to date, the outcome is likely to be more restrictive laws or little substantial change at all.

　　可想而知，考虑到这个问题对经济民族主义者的吸引力，唐纳德?特朗普(Donald Trump)不会放着不管，他指示对有关买美国货、雇美国人的政策展开评估，同时发表了让就业留在境内的激烈言论。在理论上，对两项政策、特别是短期H-1B工作签证进行审查，可能会取得一些卓有成效的改进。而实际上，考虑到特朗普的过往记录，评估结果既可能是出台更具限制性的法规，也可能不会有什么实质性改变。

　　Of the two issues, Buy American is the more clear-cut. Such procurement¹² rules have been part of federal law since 1933, but can be applied¹³ in more or less restrictive ways. They are constrained¹⁴ by the US’s membership of the government procurement agreement in the World Trade Organization, which has 19 signatories including the EU, Japan and South Korea, though not China. Separately, Canada and Mexico have access via the North American Free Trade Agreement.

　　在这两个问题中，购买美国货的问题更为明朗。自1933年以来，此类采购规定一直是联邦法律的一部分，但是在执行上可以或宽或严。美国是世贸组织(WTO)《政府采购协议》的签约国，因此其购买国货规则要受到制约。该协议有19个成员，包括欧盟、日本和韩国，不过没有中国。另外，加拿大和墨西哥的产品可以凭借《北美自由贸易协定》(NAFTA)进入美国市场。

　　Attempts to restrict procurement to domestic companies tend to backfire. They induce retaliation¹⁵ from trading partners, harming US businesses trying to sell abroad. They raise input¹⁶ costs, ensuring less infrastructure¹⁷ is built and fewer construction workers are hired for each dollar of public spending. And they increase paperwork and delays as companies struggle to cope with onerous¹⁸ reporting requirements.

　　试图推行只能采购国内企业产品的做法往往会适得其反。这些做法会引起贸易伙伴的报复，伤害美国出口企业；提高投入成本，相同的公共支出所能建设的基础设施会更少、所能雇用的建筑工人也会更少；此外还会增加文书工作并耽误时间，因为企业需要努力应对繁琐的报告要求。

　　The H-1B issue is more complex. The visa programme was designed to bring in high-skilled workers, particularly in the tech sector, who would be complementary to US workers. They would also help with start-ups and other fast-growing companies that would in turn increase local hiring. Often it has meant consultancy companies substituting lower-skilled employees with temporary workers and then offshoring production.

　　H-1B签证的问题就更为复杂了。该签证项目是为了引入高技能人才、特别是科技业人才，他们可以对美国劳动者起到补充作用。他们还可以帮助初创公司和其他快速增长的企业，反过来会促进本地就业。实际情况往往是咨询公司会用临时工代替低技能员工，然后把生产转到海外。

　　The high demand for H-1Bs, with the annual 65,000 quota¹⁹ often rapidly filled, has led to their distribution by lottery²⁰ rather than on merit. Reform to address that issue would be politically astute²¹ — and, assuming that some kind of quota is required at all — more likely to increase US productivity.

　　H-1B签证每年有6.5万个配额，往往很快就申请满了。火爆的需求导致此类签证是按抽签方式分配的，而不是按申请人的能力。通过改革解决该问题在政治上是精明之举——并且假设某种配额是必要的——也更有可能提高美国的生产力。

　　Handing out the visas on the basis of offered salary would be a simple market-based solution, but it would mean more workers going to established tech companies and fewer going to start-ups. More complex but potentially more productive would be to give visas to companies that allowed workers to apply for permanent residency, showing they were interested in more than churning short-term employees.

　　以薪资水平为依据发放签证，是基于市场的简单办法，但这意味着人才会更多地进入成熟的科技公司、而不是初创公司。更复杂、但可能更有效的办法是把签证分配给那些允许员工申请永久居留的企业，以表明它们感兴趣的不只是招收短期员工。

　　What emerges from Mr Trump’s review remains²² to be seen. The unpredictability of his administration could throw up something disastrous²³, something productive or something ineffectual. But the principle should remain to keep the US economy as open as possible to the inflow of good products and good workers from abroad. Slamming down the drawbridge is only likely to impoverish²⁴ the residents of the citadel²⁵.

　　特朗普的评估会带来什么政策仍然有待观察。其政府的不可预见性意味着，这些政策可能是灾难性的，可能卓有成效，也可能徒劳无益。但应该坚持一个原则，那就是让美国经济尽可能地继续对外国好产品和好人才保持开放态度。猛然关闭吊桥只可能让城堡里的居民变得贫穷。

1 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

3 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

4 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

5 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

6 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

7 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。

8 waded   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tucked up her skirt and waded into the river. 她撩起裙子蹚水走进河里。
• He waded into the water to push the boat out. 他蹚进水里把船推出来。

9 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

10 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

11 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

12 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。

13 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

14 constrained   

adj.束缚的,节制的

参考例句：

• The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服，他觉得不得不接受。
• I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。

15 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

17 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

18 onerous   

adj.繁重的

参考例句：

• My household duties were not particularly onerous.我的家务活并不繁重。
• This obligation sometimes proves onerous.这一义务有时被证明是艰巨的。

19 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

20 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

21 astute   

adj.机敏的，精明的

参考例句：

• A good leader must be an astute judge of ability.一个优秀的领导人必须善于识别人的能力。
• The criminal was very astute and well matched the detective in intelligence.这个罪犯非常狡猾，足以对付侦探的机智。

22 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

23 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

24 impoverish   

vt.使穷困，使贫困

参考例句：

• We need to reduce the burden of taxes that impoverish the economy.我们需要减轻导致经济困顿的税收负荷。
• America still has enough credibility to a more profitable path that would impoverish its creditors slowly.美国尚有足够的信用来让其得以选择一条更加有利可图的路径使它的债权人们渐渐贫困枯竭。

25 citadel   

n.城堡；堡垒；避难所

参考例句：

• The citadel was solid.城堡是坚固的。
• This citadel is built on high ground for protecting the city.这座城堡建于高处是为保护城市。