密歇根新闻广播 NAFTA将会摧毁密歇根州

 

My guess is that virtually everyone who even half-heartedly follows the news knows that a Republican senator from Tennessee called the White House an "adult day care center" after the President called him a coward, et cetera, et cetera.

But I'd guess not one person in a hundred knows that marathon talks are underway in an attempt to renegotiate NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement. There are supposed to be seven rounds of these meetings before Christmas, shuttling between Mexico City, Ottawa, and Washington, where they are meeting this week.

President Trump¹ has been insisting that NAFTA be reworked on terms much more favorable to the United States. His administration wants tougher "rules of origin" that would require vehicles to have a higher percentage of U.S. made parts.

Few in any of the three member nations doubt that NAFTA needs tweaking. When these talks started six weeks ago, Chrystia Freeland, Canada's foreign affairs minister said, "The agreement is 23 years old. The global, North American and Canadian economies have been transformed in that time by the technology revolution," and that of course changes are needed.

But in general, Canada and Mexico merely want to fix NAFTA. President Trump campaigned on a promise to repeal² it, which has evolved into demands for drastic revision.

There is a chance the American side may make demands so outrageous³ they actually destroy the treaty. Last week, Douglas George, a skilled trade negotiator who is now Canada's consul⁴ general in Detroit, told me this could have huge and potentially disastrous⁵ consequences for Michigan.

"Of all the states that could be affected⁶ by NAFTA, Michigan is at the top of the list," he said, because we do more trade with Canada, primarily automotive, than any other state.

Daniel Ujczo is an international trade and customs lawyer in Columbus, Ohio, who specializes in U.S.-Canada matters. He knows NAFTA isn't all that popular, especially among those who think it has cost automotive jobs in Michigan. "Usually when I hear NAFTA in Detroit, it is preceded by another adjective that starts with F," he told me.

Ujczo isn't thrilled with some Canadian positions on NAFTA. But he has been alarmed by what he calls the "aggressive rhetoric⁷" of the Trump administration, and their negative comments at the talks' outset.

He cautioned that things are more complex in the automotive sector⁸ than many may understand. "The automotive industry … wants negotiators to understand that billions of dollars have been spent to develop a highly efficient North American manufacturing supply chain and is fighting to block any changes to the percentage of parts made in the originating country to qualify for tariff⁹ free-trade," he posted on his site.

But changes in those percentages is what the administration is demanding. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross complained that NAFTA has led to a trade deficit¹⁰ that "has gutted¹¹ American manufacturing, killed jobs, and sapped our wealth."

That rhetoric has alarmed the U.S. Chamber¹² of Commerce, which called the administration's "rules of origin" rhetoric "highly dangerous." Now, of course, many trade talks start out with hostile speeches and end with grins and handshakes.

But if we were to withdraw from NAFTA, there would clearly be some big financial losers, and everything I know indicates Michigan would be first to feel the pain.

Jack¹³ Lessenberry is Michigan Radio's Senior Political Analyst¹⁴. Views expressed in his essays are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Radio, its management or the station licensee, The University of Michigan.

1 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。

2 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

3 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

4 consul   

n.领事；执政官

参考例句：

• A consul's duty is to help his own nationals.领事的职责是帮助自己的同胞。
• He'll hold the post of consul general for the United States at Shanghai.他将就任美国驻上海总领事(的职务)。

5 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。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 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。

8 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。

9 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

10 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

11 gutted   

adj.容易消化的v.毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 )；取出…的内脏

参考例句：

• Disappointed? I was gutted! 失望？我是伤心透了！
• The invaders gutted the historic building. 侵略者们将那幢历史上有名的建筑洗劫一空。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 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。

13 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

14 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。