2018年CRI U.S. companies do not want a trade war: top business lobby

 

"I think it (trade war) will hurt both countries, and there would be collateral¹ damage, I’m sure, in other markets. So a trade war, basically, everybody loses."

                                                                   ——William Zarit, chairman of the American Chamber² of Commerce in China. 

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump³ threatened to impose tariffs⁴ on 60 billion U.S. dollars worth of imports from China, and put restrictions⁵ on Chinese investment in the country.

The trade frictions⁶ have heightened fears about a trade war erupting between the world's two biggest economies.

Recently, U.S. companies operating in China have expressed their concerns over the potential for losses in the event of a trade war.

With more on the concerns of U.S. companies, CRI's Li Yi caught up with William Zarit, the chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, a leading business lobby for about 900 U.S. companies in China.

Q: You know there has been a lot of concerns from U.S. companies about the impact of a trade war with China, so I’m wondering what are US companies operating in China saying to your organization, as you are their main lobby in China?

A: Companies are saying that they don’t want a trade war. We have an annual survey at the American Chamber in China, and we ask the question: what would you like the U.S. government to do to help you? And the No. 1 response was“to advocate for a more level playing field, the No. 2 response was“to advocate for reciprocal treatment to get better access, market access”. So the companies feel something needs to be done, but that doesn’t mean that they want a trade war.

Q: What effect will it have on bilateral⁷ and international trade if the Trump administration imposes additional tariffs on imports from China?

A: Well, on international trade, global trade, I think we would have a negative effect. You know what is more important than the actual effect on the trade is the expectations of investors⁸. We saw when Trump was talking about these 50 billion dollars worth of tariffs, did you notice what happened to stock markets all around the world? They tanked. Nothing has happened, it’s just the expectation. So more tariffs, I think will have a deleterious effect on investors, on the stock market. The stock market is sometimes a good gage⁹ of the economy although it’s not directly linked, but a lot of people will lose a lot of wealth if stock markets go down considerably¹⁰.

Q: What about bilateral trade, just between the U.S. and China?

A: It definitely will not be good, but you know I don’t want to speculate because I am hoping that they won’t get to that point. I think that we have too much stake, both sides have too much stake for it to get to that point.

Q: How deep do you think a “trade war”, or we say trade disputes between China and the U.S. might go?

A: Trade disputes between China and the U.S. are broad, and in some areas kind of deep. In general, my hope is that we will be able to come up with solutions that are beneficial and acceptable to both sides. One thing I’m concern about right now is that the U.S. administration is considering these tariffs, and there hasn’t been a lot of communication between the two governments. Now I understand, supposedly there have been talks going on for at least few days, but in general, there is very little communication, and I think that’s dangerous. We need more communication. So I understand why the administration is frustrated¹¹, and I agree that those bilateral mechanisms¹² weren’t very effective, but we still need to talk.

Q: If a so-called trade war happens, who will be the winner?

A: Well again, I don’t know that we’re going to have a trade war. China’s economy, I think about 20 percent of the economy is based on exports. The U.S. is about half of that, as the percentage of GDP. I think it (trade war) will hurt both countries, and there would be collateral damage, I’m sure, in other markets. So a trade war, basically, everybody loses.

1 collateral   

adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品

参考例句：

• Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
• Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押，这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。

2 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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

6 frictions   

n.摩擦( friction的名词复数 )；摩擦力；冲突；不和

参考例句：

• Family frictions can interfere with a child's schoolwork. 家庭中的争吵会影响孩子的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• As far as we are concerned, these frictions are not of our own making [have been imposed on us]. 就我们来说，这种摩擦是被动式的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

8 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

9 gage   

n.标准尺寸，规格；量规，量表 [=gauge]

参考例句：

• Can you gage what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gage one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

10 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

11 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》