美国国家公共电台 NPR In Solar Trade Dispute, Will Proposed Tariffs Cost Industry Jobs?

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

A trade dispute has different parts of the solar industry in the U.S. at odds¹ with one another. Two U.S. manufacturers say they cannot compete with cheap solar panels from China. So they're asking regulators to impose a tariff². That has companies that install solar systems worried. Will Stone of member station KJZZ in Phoenix³ reports.

WILL STONE, BYLINE⁴: This trade case hasn't even been decided⁵ yet. But solar installers, like Mark Holohan, are already feeling the effects.

MARK HOLOHAN: So here we are in our warehouse⁶.

STONE: Holohan's company, Wilson Electric based near Phoenix, installs solar in places like schools and office buildings. And like many, he's relied on a cheap plentiful⁷ supply of panels made overseas, mostly in Asia. But a proposed tariff has the industry so worried, panels are hard to come by.

HOLOHAN: We have a sort of a panic buying mode in the marketplace right now. Inventories⁸ have fallen. Prices have risen.

STONE: In the short term, they'll get by he says. But...

HOLOHAN: There's a threat of a very large price hike looming⁹ if the total request on the trade case is granted. And so that makes life very difficult for us.

STONE: In fact, some industry leaders call it an existential threat, warning it could result in the loss of nearly a third of all solar jobs. But two U.S. makers¹⁰ of panels argue the opposite. They filed a complaint saying inexpensive imports have dealt them serious injury and they need protection.

TIM BRIGHTBILL: If you lose the manufacturing, then all of the innovation, all of the know-how¹¹, all of the investment will go overseas.

STONE: Attorney Tim Brightbill represents SolarWorld, one of the companies requesting steep tariffs¹². He argues a trade barrier would actually add jobs - more than 140,000. Otherwise, U.S. manufacturers of solar panels...

BRIGHTBILL: Can't compete with foreign governments, with foreign dumping and subsidies¹³ and a global surge of imports. And they shouldn't have to.

STONE: Brightbill says SolarWorld successfully pushed for tariffs on Chinese panels before, but those safeguards haven't helped enough. Now they want a tariff on imports from anywhere in the world. Aaron Fellmeth is a professor of international law at Arizona State University.

AARON FELLMETH: There is no example in history of an industry that has prospered¹⁴ in the long run thanks to a safeguard measure.

STONE: This case may fall to President Donald Trump¹⁵. Given his criticism of NAFTA, support for U.S. manufacturing and fossil fuels, Trump would likely support a tariff, says Fellmeth. But he warns that could backfire.

FELLMETH: It's a short-term fix that ignores the long-term problem.

STONE: Consumers will pay more for solar, he says. And other areas of solar manufacturing could suffer - companies like Quick Mount PV, which is based in California and makes equipment to mount solar panels.

JEFF SPIES: If the intention is to defend U.S. manufacturing, the decision is clear - dismiss this case with no penalties.

STONE: Jeff Spies is head of policy a Quick Mount PV.

SPIES: I can't even think of anything that comes close to the threat that we see with this particular trade case. Ninety-thousand jobs lost in any other industry would have a lot of politicians freaking out.

STONE: A bipartisan coalition¹⁶ of senators and some conservative free market groups did come out against any trade protections. What makes this case so infuriating to many in the solar industry - the two companies asking for the tariffs aren't even all American. SolarWorld is owned by a German company, which declared insolvency¹⁷. And Suniva, which recently went bankrupt, is now majority owned by a Chinese firm. Mark Holohan of Wilson Electric shakes his head.

HOLOHAN: While they have manufacturing here, they aren't even headquartered here. They're headquartered elsewhere. So it's definitely a world market we're dealing¹⁸ with.

STONE: Soon regulators will rule whether that globalized market has actually hurt the domestic industry. If the answer is yes, President Trump will decide the remedy. For NPR News, I'm Will Stone in Phoenix.

1 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

2 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。

3 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

4 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。

5 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。

6 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

7 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

8 inventories   

n.总结( inventory的名词复数 )；细账；存货清单（或财产目录）的编制

参考例句：

• In other cases, such as inventories, inputs and outputs are both continuous. 在另一些情况下，比如存货，其投入和产出都是持续不断的。
• The store must clear its winter inventories by April 1st. 该店必须在4月1日前售清冬季存货。

9 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

10 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 know-how   

n.知识；技术；诀窍

参考例句：

• He hasn't got the know-how to run a farm.他没有经营农场的专业知识。
• I don't have much know-how about engines.发动机方面的技术知识我知之甚少。

12 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。

13 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 prospered   

成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The organization certainly prospered under his stewardship. 不可否认，这个组织在他的管理下兴旺了起来。
• Mr. Black prospered from his wise investments. 布莱克先生由于巧妙的投资赚了不少钱。

15 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。

16 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

17 insolvency   

n.无力偿付，破产

参考例句：

• The company is on the verge of insolvency.该公司快要破产了。
• Normal insolvency procedures should not be applied to banks.通常的破产程序不应当适用于银行。

18 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。