密歇根新闻广播 底特律汽车制造商是特朗普的朋友

 

President Donald Trump¹'s relationship with Detroit's auto² industry is complicated. Look at the past week.

On Monday, Trump's Environmental Protection Agency said that it would consider easing Obama-era fuel economy standards. For an industry selling more and more pickups and SUVs, that's exactly what automakers, foreign and domestic, wanted to hear.

The Motor City's ties with President Donald Trump could strain if trade tensions begin to hurt the economy, says Daniel Howes of The Detroit News.

Why? Because meeting future targets is increasingly expensive. And because the world isn't quickly moving electric, especially annoying U.S. consumers who think for themselves.

Low gas prices help. The flexibility³ of small, medium and large SUVs helps. So do the improved gas mileage⁴ and cleaner emissions⁵ delivered by modern engines.

Enter the EPA, which says it's open to revising the rules, probably downward.

Time for popping champagne⁶ corks⁷ in Detroit, right? Not exactly.

Public gloating would be dumb, considering Detroit's Three automakers are doubling-down on America's shift to pickups and SUVs. None want to be seen mocking the environmental credentials⁸ they're trying to build through more hybrids⁹, electric powertrains and visions of a zero-emissions world.

Yes, they're trying to have it both ways – thanks to the most Detroit-auto-industry-friendly president to occupy the Oval Office in decades. Right? Maybe. The Trump EPA is on a collision course with California and the dozen states that follow its emissions rules – the same parts of the country Detroit wants to reclaim¹⁰ with new products.

Not exactly a good place to be for General Motors, Ford¹¹ and Fiat¹² Chrysler.

Neither is standing¹³ in the middle of the president's building trade war with China. Officially, the administration says its proposed tariffs¹⁴ on Chinese-built goods are not the opening act to a transpacific trade war. They're designed to shield average American consumers from the pain.

Not so much the Chinese response. It's aimed pretty squarely at the industrial heartland and the voters who helped put Trump in the White House. Few politicians pay more attention to their base with more devotion than Trump. That's precisely¹⁵ why the Chinese are targeting American autos, soybeans and other commodities produced in Red States: to hit the president's base hard.

And it's why the president is ordering his trade representative to consider another one hundred billion dollars in tariffs on Chinese goods. He wants to show the base, and China, presumably, that he's tough. And to complain that China is, quote, "unfair."

The president's tough-guy-on-trade routine is a leadership test he is giving himself. And they're watching in foreign capitals like Beijing, Moscow and Pyongyang, as well as in executive suites¹⁶ in Detroit, Tokyo and Silicon¹⁷ Valley. How Trump bargains and whether he delivers deals will become the standard others use to judge him.

The Chinese are not stupid. Neither are American consumers.

If Trump's trade skirmish with China escalates¹⁸ into a trade war, and if the reverberations start hitting their wallets and 401(k) statements, they'll say so. The last thing Trump wants a Democratic challenger asking Michigan voters is, "Who cost you your job?"

Daniel Howes is a columnist¹⁹ at The Detroit News. 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 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

3 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

4 mileage   

n.里程，英里数；好处，利润

参考例句：

• He doesn't think there's any mileage in that type of advertising.他认为做那种广告毫无效益。
• What mileage has your car done?你的汽车跑了多少英里？

5 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

6 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

7 corks   

n.脐梅衣；软木( cork的名词复数 )；软木塞

参考例句：

• Champagne corks were popping throughout the celebrations. 庆祝会上开香槟酒瓶塞的砰砰声不绝於耳。 来自辞典例句
• Champagne corks popped, and on lace tablecloths seven-course dinners were laid. 桌上铺着带装饰图案的网织的桌布，上面是七道菜的晚餐。 来自飘（部分）

8 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

9 hybrids   

n.杂交生成的生物体( hybrid的名词复数 )；杂交植物（或动物）；杂种；（不同事物的）混合物

参考例句：

• All these brightly coloured hybrids are so lovely in the garden. 花园里所有这些色彩鲜艳的杂交花真美丽。 来自辞典例句
• The notion that interspecific hybrids are rare is ill-founded. 有一种看法认为种间杂种是罕见的，这种看法是无根据的。 来自辞典例句

10 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。

11 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

12 fiat   

n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布

参考例句：

• The opening of a market stall is governed by municipal fiat.开设市场摊位受市政法令管制。
• He has tried to impose solutions to the country's problems by fiat.他试图下令强行解决该国的问题。

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 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。

15 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

16 suites   

n.套( suite的名词复数 )；一套房间；一套家具；一套公寓

参考例句：

• First he called upon all the Foreign Ministers in their hotel suites. 他首先到所有外交部长住的旅馆套间去拜访。 来自辞典例句
• All four doors to the two reserved suites were open. 预定的两个套房的四扇门都敞开着。 来自辞典例句

17 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

18 escalates   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的第三人称单数 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• As the challenge escalates, the need for teamwork elevates. 面临的挑战越大，越需要团队协同合作。 来自互联网
• I cannot understand why a minor disagreement escalates into a fist-fight. 我真不明白为什么一点意见不合就变成了拳头相见。 来自互联网

19 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。