经济学人124:世贸组织与中国的交锋

 　　The WTO and China

　　Hands slapped

　　世贸组织与中国的交锋

　　A ruling with ramifications¹

　　裁决之意，一石多鸟

　　Jul 7th 2011 | from the print edition

　　WHEN China joined the World Trade Organisation² (WTO) in late 2001, its share of world exports stood at 4.3%. By last year that share had soared to 10.6%, and the country had become the world’s biggest exporter. In addition to awe³ and envy, its rise has spawned⁴ a rapidly growing list of trade quarrels. China was a party to only two of the 93 trade disputes that were taken to the WTO between its accession and the end of 2005. But in the five years to the end of 2010, it was involved in 26 of the 84 cases filed at the forum⁵.

　　中国于2001年底加入世贸组织时，对外贸易出口额仅占世界总额的4.3%。然而，去年该比例已飙升到10.6%，使得中国已经成为世界上最大的出口国。对此，各国有敬畏也有嫉妒，因而贸易纷争骤增。在中国入世后至2005年年底这段时间，世贸组织所处理的商业纠纷中，只有两起牵涉到中国。然而，在05年到10年底这段时间，世贸处理的84起纠纷中，就有26起牵扯到中国。

　　On July 5th the WTO’s dispute-settlement body found against China on three linked complaints. The cases were brought by America, the European Union and Mexico in 2009 and took issue with China’s policy of restricting the exports of certain industrial raw materials, including bauxite⁶, magnesium⁷, zinc⁸ and silica, of which it is a leading producer. The plaintiffs argued that China’s policies gave domestic firms that use these commodities an unfair competitive advantage, while also restricting world supply of these inputs⁹ and causing their prices to soar.

　　7月5号，世贸争议解决机构在连续3场投诉中都判定中国违规。这3场投诉由美国、欧盟、墨西哥于2009年提出，他们的投诉理由为，中国在铝土矿、镁、锌硅等工业原料方面是主要产出国，但是中国制定政策，限制这些原料的出口。原告认定，中国的政策限制这些商品的供给，引起价格飙升，从而让国内利用这些原料的公司具有竞争优势，这很不公平。

　　China says its restrictions¹⁰ were motivated by its desire to conserve¹¹ the world’s limited supply of these materials and to protect the environment from the pollution caused by their extraction. The problem with this line of argument, as the WTO panel noted¹², was that although China restricted the export of these commodities, it had done nothing to reduce their actual production. China’s policies were in clear violation¹³ of its WTO commitments, it found.

　　中国辩护说设定这些限制完全出于以下考虑，中方有意节约这些稀有资源，同时减少提炼带来的环境污染。世贸专门问题小组认为，该论证的问题在于，虽然说中国限制这些原料的出口，可是它完全没有减少实际产出。该小组认为中国的政策显然违背了它入世时的承诺。

　　China expressed “regret” at the WTO’s ruling and has up to 60 days to lodge¹⁴ an appeal. Jeffrey Schott of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a think-tank in Washington, DC, expects “several more big cases against China soon”. But the significance of this judgment¹⁵ goes beyond China. Many countries banned some food exports during the food-price spike¹⁶ of 2008. A renewed period of buoyant commodity prices and demand could easily tempt¹⁷ more governments to emulate¹⁸ China’s restrictions on exports of raw materials. The WTO’s judgment may dissuade¹⁹ at least some countries from doing so. And given the rotten state of the Doha round of trade talks, a show of teeth in defence of a rules-based trading system is more useful than ever.

　　中国认为世贸组织裁判不公，因而花费多达60天提出上诉。彼得森国际经济研究所是华盛顿的智囊团，其员工杰弗里?斯科特认为，“中国很快就得面对几场更大的投诉。”然而审判的意义其实不在于针对中国。2008年食品价格狂升时，许多国家都禁止进食品出口。现在各国面临新一轮的食品价格上涨，需求增大，所以它们很可能效仿中国，限制原材料出口。世贸组织做此判定至少可以阻止某些国家采用这条计策。然而，考虑到多边贸易谈判的糟糕情况，我们有必要在此刻展示出维护有规可循的贸易体系的勇气，这会比以往任何时候都有效。

1 ramifications   

n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
• What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

3 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

4 spawned   

（鱼、蛙等）大量产（卵）( spawn的过去式和过去分词 )； 大量生产

参考例句：

• The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 这支乐队的专辑繁衍出一连串走红的单曲唱片。
• The computer industry has spawned a lot of new companies. 由于电脑工业的发展，许多新公司纷纷成立。

5 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

6 bauxite   

n.铝土矿

参考例句：

• Aluminum is made from bauxite.铝是从铝土矿中提炼出的。
• The United States was vulnerable to shortages of chrome,bauxite,and platinum.美国的弱点是缺少铬、矾土和铂。

7 magnesium   

n.镁

参考例句：

• Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
• The water contains high amounts of magnesium.这水含有大量的镁。

8 zinc   

n.锌；vt.在...上镀锌

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• Zinc is used to protect other metals from corrosion.锌被用来保护其他金属不受腐蚀。

9 inputs   

n.输入( input的名词复数 )；投入；输入端；输入的数据v.把…输入电脑( input的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Uncheck the inputs checked for optimization in the previous stage. 不测试那些已经测试过的优化了的以前步骤的inputs.（变量参数）。 来自互联网
• Just in case, save in a file the inputs obtained at the previous stage. 以防万一，保存以前步骤获得的inputs（变量参数值）到一个文件中去。 来自互联网

10 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

11 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

14 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

15 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

16 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

17 tempt   

vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣

参考例句：

• Nothing could tempt him to such a course of action.什么都不能诱使他去那样做。
• The fact that she had become wealthy did not tempt her to alter her frugal way of life.她有钱了，可这丝毫没能让她改变节俭的生活习惯。

18 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

19 dissuade   

v.劝阻，阻止

参考例句：

• You'd better dissuade him from doing that.你最好劝阻他别那样干。
• I tried to dissuade her from investing her money in stocks and shares.我曾设法劝她不要投资于股票交易。