2018年CRI China-U.S. trade dispute threatens U.S. wine industry

 

California's growing wine industry fears its customer base across the Pacific may shrink, as they are concerned about the prospect¹ of retaliatory² tariffs³ imposed by China.

CRI's Yu Yang has the story.

U.S. President Donald Trump⁴ signed a memorandum⁵ that could impose tariffs on up to 60 billion U.S. dollars of imports from China and put restrictions⁶ on Chinese investment in the US, and China is now mulling retaliatory tariffs on the United States' agriculture sector⁷.

On hearing news that China could slap tariffs on California wines, some people have expressed concerns about a possible trade war with this country's biggest trading partner.

Ryan Bjorkquist, a wine enthusiast⁸ at tasting rooms in California's Napa Valley, says the possible trade war is no good for anyone.

"China's a big emerging market for California wine, and everything is related - whether it's steel products or aluminum⁹, whatever. Everything does have a cause and effect. So, whether it's electronics or wine, an emerging trade war, I don't think is good for anybody."

Angela Dilaura, another wine enthusiast, has also offered her insight into the current situation.

"The Chinese market - they can buy wine from Europe, they can buy the wine from South America, they can buy wine from the United States. There are a lot of options, and in this type of global economy it's important that the United States remains¹⁰ competitive."

Napa Valley has 225-thousand acres of land and is responsible for just four percent of the total volume of California Wine. But it produces about a third of the total value.

Michael Honig, president of Honig Wine, a third generation family vineyard, says every time the price goes up, there are fewer people who are able to afford those products as they're at the top of the luxury pyramid.

"So, if I sell something for a dollar. By the time it reaches the port in China, it's marked up 50 cents, so it's 1.50 dollars. The new price would go to 1.65 dollars. A great example is Australia, which next year 2019, their tariffs and duties go down to zero. So we are trying to compete not only with other California producers, but wineries from around the world."

Honig was one of the first to enter the Chinese market more than a decade ago.

Since then, Honig and his team have increased exports to China tenfold.

Napa Valley growers want a bigger share of China's growing wine market, and don't want U.S. tariffs to get in the way.

1 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

2 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

3 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

4 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。

5 memorandum   

n.备忘录，便笺

参考例句：

• The memorandum was dated 23 August,2008.备忘录上注明的日期是2008年8月23日。
• The Secretary notes down the date of the meeting in her memorandum book.秘书把会议日期都写在记事本上。

6 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

7 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。

8 enthusiast   

n.热心人，热衷者

参考例句：

• He is an enthusiast about politics.他是个热衷于政治的人。
• He was an enthusiast and loved to evoke enthusiasm in others.他是一个激情昂扬的人，也热中于唤起他人心中的激情。

9 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

10 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。