美国国家公共电台 NPR How U.S. Businesses In Europe Are Already Planning For Brexit

How U.S. Businesses In Europe Are Already Planning For Brexit 

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When the United Kingdom decided² to pull out of the European Union, there were dire³ predictions about the impact on the economy. Since that vote a couple of months ago, the British economy has not completely crashed. But the pound has fallen against the dollar - one of the things that's creating uncertainty⁴ for American finance firms and automakers based in Europe.

This week, we're hearing about America's role in the world in a project called A Nation Engaged. Today, we're going to explore how the Brexit referendum has affected⁶ U.S. business and political interests there. NPR's Frank Langfitt was on the line with us from London. Good morning.

FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE⁷: Hey. Good morning, Renee.

MONTAGNE: Well, let's start with the mood of American business in the U.K. these days.

LANGFITT: You know, Renee, the actual Brexit is years off. But there are certain sectors⁸ here that are already anxious and bracing⁹ for it. GM is talking about cutting hours for workers at two German plants because of lower demand in the U.K. based just on the Brexit vote alone. Ford¹⁰'s talking about raising prices, even looking at closing factories. The company's already taking a financial hit. Now, this is Bob Shanks. He's the company's chief financial officer. Here's how he put it in an investor¹¹ call earlier this summer.

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BOB SHANKS: We are expecting to have headwinds of about $200 million this year associated with Brexit, and we see the impact on Ford being somewhere in the range of 400 to 500 million dollars in each year.

LANGFITT: And that's just based on the vote in June.

MONTAGNE: And that is also just Detroit's view. There's also the view from London. It is Europe's financial capital. Lots of American investment banks are headquartered there. How do they see things?

LANGFITT: Well, I've been talking to a lot of people on the future of finance in London, and we'll be hearing from them in a moment. But you can start even before the June referendum - what people were saying. Take Jamie Dimon - he's the CEO of JP Morgan. He came here and warned that after Brexit, the company's operation in the U.K. might not be able to do certain work in Europe, which is what most people expect. And he told workers in the U.K. office here that a lot of their jobs might actually end up going to continental¹² Europe.

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JAMIE DIMON: Today, we can service EU companies here, freely, with systems, technology, research, investment banking¹³. After a Brexit, we cannot do it all here. And we will have to start planning for that. I don't know if it means a thousand jobs, 2,000 jobs. It could be as many as 4,000.

ANDREW GRAY: This is hugely too complicated because the organizations have evolved in London over decades.

LANGFITT: Andrew Gray is a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He advises investment banks, insurance companies and other firms on Brexit planning.

GRAY: A number of banks have estimated to replicate¹⁴ even part of their infrastructure¹⁵ in Europe could take between five and 10 years.

LANGFITT: So you mean to take what they do here in the city of - in London and move it to Europe?

GRAY: Yeah, I mean if...

LANGFITT: That's a lot.

GRAY: It's a huge amount of time. There are 2 million people working in financial services in the U.K. There is no capacity in a number of other European locations simply to replicate what we have.

LANGFITT: Gray says companies are considering cities ranging from Dublin to Amsterdam to Paris and Luxembourg, assuming they can find the space.

GRAY: You have to be looking at real estate as an option. Yeah, there is a - only a finite supply of suitable real estate in a number of these locations. And if they choose a particular location, they've got to think about issues around - you know, the people issues, which will include some of the social aspects, housing, schools. They've got to look at language skills.

LANGFITT: The United Kingdom's auto⁵ business, which is seen as very successful, sends more than half its exports to the European Union. So naturally, it's worried, as well.

TAMZEN ISACSSON: It's our single most important trading partner.

LANGFITT: Tamzen Isacsson works for the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, a U.K. industry group.

ISACSSON: It's vital for our U.K. automotive manufacturing and for our, you know, huge retail¹⁶ market here that we secure unfettered access to the European markets.

LANGFITT: Otherwise, companies, such as GM, could face tariffs¹⁷ to export to the EU. And that could make it harder for plants here to win new work.

GRAY: The big issues are going to be large-scale models coming up for renewal¹⁸ during the period of uncertainty.

LANGFITT: Graham Armitage is an auto analyst¹⁹ for KPMG.

GRAHAM ARMITAGE: You're talking about tens of thousands of jobs that could be affected. You know, not all of those under - no one would say that all of those decisions will go against the U.K., but they're going to be tougher decisions than they would otherwise have been.

MONTAGNE: So American business is anxious, uncertain about Brexit. Where is the U.S. government in all of this?

LANGFITT: Well, you know, you remember, President Obama actually came here, and he urged the British to vote, stay in the EU. And it wasn't just for economic reasons, but political ones as well. And it is all connected. The U.K. has been seen as a reliable, influential²⁰ ally for the U.S. on its own and in Europe. And I was talking to a guy named Anand Menon. He's a professor of European politics at King's College here in London, and this is the way he analyzed²¹ it.

ANAND MENON: First and foremost, I think the United States wants a cohesive²² Europe. This obviously - this Brexit decision - undermines that cohesiveness²³ to an extent. The United States wants an economically strong Europe, and in so far as Brexit has negative economic consequences for the U.K. and for continental Europe. That's not something the United States would welcome.

MONTAGNE: All of that explains why the U.S. really wanted the U.K. to stay in the EU, right?

LANGFITT: Absolutely. I mean, the U.K. has been very helpful to American interests in Europe and speaking for the United States on the continent. But this guy, professor Menon at King's College - he said more broadly that it was about a united Europe and that a united Europe with the U.K. - in it was a key to manage the influence of China - rising China.

You know, the U.S., the U.K., Europe - they all shared democratic systems and values. And people see it as important for these countries to stick together as an authoritarian²⁴ nation, as exerting more power across the globe. And with Brexit, you know, managing China's rise may make it just a little bit harder for the U.S.

MONTAGNE: Frank, thanks very much.

LANGFITT: Happy to do it, Renee.

MONTAGNE: That's NPR's Frank Langfitt speaking to us from London, as part of our series A Nation Engaged.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

4 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

5 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。

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 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

10 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。

11 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

12 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

13 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

14 replicate   

v.折叠，复制，模写；n.同样的样品；adj.转折的

参考例句：

• The DNA of chromatin must replicate before cell division.染色质DNA在细胞分裂之前必须复制。
• It is also easy to replicate,as the next subsection explains.就像下一个小节详细说明的那样，它还可以被轻易的复制。

15 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

16 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

17 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。

18 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

19 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。

20 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

21 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 cohesive   

adj.有粘着力的；有结合力的；凝聚性的

参考例句：

• She sealed the parcel with cohesive tape.她用粘胶带把包裹封起来。
• The author skillfully fuses these fragments into a cohesive whole.作者将这些片断巧妙地结合成一个连贯的整体。

23 cohesiveness   

n. 粘合，凝聚性

参考例句：

• The Bogor Goals concern APEC's credibility, cohesiveness and future development. 茂物目标事关亚太经合组织的信誉、凝聚力和未来发展。
• One of the most important properties of a work team is cohesiveness. 工作小组的最重要特征之一是凝聚力。

24 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。