美国国家公共电台 NPR--The head of the European Commission will hold talks with Biden at the White House

The head of the European Commission will hold talks with Biden at the White House

Transcript¹

President Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are expected to discuss trade and the war in Ukraine. Relations with China is also expected to come up.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The leader of the European Union visits President Biden today.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Ursula von der Leyen is president of the European Commission, which is the name for their executive branch. She's done this job for more than three years through the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. And when she meets President Biden today, she is representing the interests of dozens of countries, including France, Italy and her own nation, Germany.

MART?NEZ: And she's likely to tell President Biden the U.S. is unfair to European companies that make green technology. NPR's Rob Schmitz joins us now from Berlin. Rob, what's she worried about?

ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE²: She's worried that the Inflation Reduction Act of the United States is a protectionist act. This is also called the IRA, and it promises tax breaks to companies making technology for clean energy, but only if their operations are located on U.S. soil. And European leaders are really concerned that EU companies will flee Europe to cash in on these tax breaks. Many here feel that the EU economy could be at stake here. When the IRA passed into law, Volkswagen, for example, announced that it put plans for a battery plant in Eastern Europe on hold because the company said it suddenly stood to save more than $10 billion by moving that plant and with it hundreds of jobs to the U.S. Since then, it's been waiting for the EU to come forth³ with a rival deal so that it can weigh its options.

But Marcel Fratzscher, president of the German Institute for Economic Research, says he's skeptical⁴ about that.

MARCEL FRATZSCHER: To be quite honest, I have big doubts that companies like Volkswagen will really seriously consider moving certain plants from Europe to the U.S. And what I currently see is a bit of a blackmail⁵. So companies in Europe say, you know, let's see what the Europeans are willing to match, how much money we can get in addition. And that's a very dangerous game.

SCHMITZ: And, A, Fratzscher says it's dangerous because these companies are trying to squeeze billions of dollars out of an already cash-strapped EU. And when the EU loses money like this, it has less money to help incentivize carbon-saving climate goals. So in the end, he says, the environment loses and big multinationals⁶ win.

MART?NEZ: So then, that's got to be why von der Leyen is in Washington.

SCHMITZ: Yeah, she's trying to negotiate changes to the IRA that wouldn't lead to an exodus⁷ of European companies to the U.S. to cash in on these incentives⁸. And here in Germany, this is a real threat to the economy. An internal report compiled by the EU and leaked to German media shows that 1 in 4 companies in German industry is considering leaving the country. We also know that multinationals like BASF and BMW are considering leaving, too, because of high energy costs.

MART?NEZ: Then how realistic do you think it is for von der Leyen to convince President Biden to accommodate the EU and then stop that exodus from even happening?

SCHMITZ: Yeah, it does seem possible. A senior White House official speaking on background says that the U.S. wants to make sure that incentives under the IRA and EU incentives for clean energy will not be competing with one another in the sort of zero-sum way. If that happened, this official said, it would impact jobs on both sides of the Atlantic and would instead create windfalls for private interests. So it appears that the Biden administration is open to the EU's concerns and would prefer to have a partnership⁹ so that the U.S. and the EU can instead work together to reduce their dependence¹⁰ on China, which controls many of the rare earth metals that are needed for this clean energy transition. And this will also be high on the agenda in today's meeting.

MART?NEZ: All right. We're going to hear more about that later today. That's NPR's Rob Schmitz joining us from Berlin. Rob, thanks.

SCHMITZ: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

4 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

5 blackmail   

n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓

参考例句：

• She demanded ＄1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
• The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。

6 multinationals   

跨国公司( multinational的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These local companies are only small fry compared with the huge multinationals. 同那些跨国公司比，这些当地的公司不过是小鱼小虾。
• Some people believe that the multinationals have too much power. 有人认为跨国公司的权力太大了。

7 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

8 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

10 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。