美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Trade Action Could Boost Steel And Aluminum Makers, Hurt Other Industries

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

A lot of the aluminum¹ and steel we use here in the United States is imported from other countries. And that, according to a report from the Commerce Department, is a threat to national security. Last week, department officials recommended that President Trump² impose tariffs³ on steel and aluminum imports. That plan certainly has critics, as NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE⁴: The Commerce Department report portrayed⁵ a steel industry that's lost enormous ground to foreign competitors. The U.S. imports four times as much steel as it exports. China alone produces as much steel in a month as the U.S. does in a year. And the picture was just as dismal⁶ for aluminum, where jobs fell by 58 percent between 2013 and 2016. Scott Paul of the Alliance for American Manufacturing says import tariffs could reverse some of the damage that's been done to these industries.

SCOTT PAUL: There's a real opportunity for the president to make a difference for some of those forgotten men and women that he talked about for so long on the campaign trail in states like Pennsylvania.

ZARROLI: But the question of whether to impose tariffs, which are a kind of tax on imports, isn't as simple as it seems. While tariffs may save steel jobs, they would increase costs for other manufacturers.

REMY NATHAN: This is a complex set of problems and possible solutions with potential for unintended consequences.

ZARROLI: Remy Nathan is vice⁷ president of the U.S. Aerospace⁸ Industries Association. He says U.S. aviation manufacturing is an export success story. It provides nearly 2 1/2 million American jobs, and it depends heavily on steel and aluminum imports. Take, for instance, the fasteners that are used to connect airplane parts. Tariffs would drive up the cost of manufacturing them in the U.S. he says.

NATHAN: Now, multiply that impact across every possible piece of an aircraft that connects to an aluminum or a steel part, and you could have a cascading⁹ effect that has pretty significant impacts on our industry's global competitiveness.

ZARROLI: And tariffs could have a ripple¹⁰ effect in other ways. Mark Vaughn is president of Nashville-based Vaughn Manufacturing, which makes parts for appliance and automakers. Vaughn buys the steel he uses from U.S. suppliers, but he's concerned about the broader disruption that tariffs would cause in manufacturing. Vaughn says, if tariffs take effect, some of the big companies he sells to could start doing more of their manufacturing abroad.

MARK VAUGHN: All of them concentrate on cost, and if the cost of their product goes up, then that would create the environment where they may look elsewhere as far as how they go about supplying their plants.

ZARROLI: And there's another worry - the tariffs will most likely be challenged at the World Trade Organization, which mediates¹¹ disputes. The U.S. could argue that it needs aluminum and steel industries for making tanks and planes for defense¹² purposes, but if it does, other countries can follow suit and end up imposing¹³ tariffs of their own. Scott Paul of the Alliance for American Manufacturing says that's pretty unlikely. No other country has the huge trade imbalances that the U.S. has.

PAUL: The difference is, in the past, we've kind of just sat back and taken it when countries violated our trade laws and have dumped into our market. This time, we're standing¹⁴ up.

ZARROLI: In fact, he says, tariffs could benefit the U.S. economy by smoothing out the distortions caused by trade imbalances. But to impose them, President Trump would end up alienating¹⁵ a lot of other manufacturers, and that may be a risk he doesn't want to take. Jim Zarroli, NPR News.

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1 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

2 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。

3 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。

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 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

9 cascading   

流注( cascade的现在分词 )； 大量落下； 大量垂悬； 梯流

参考例句：

• First of all, cascading menus are to be avoided at all costs. 首先，无论如何都要避免使用级联菜单。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Her sounds began cascading gently. 他的声音开始缓缓地低落下来。

10 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

11 mediates   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的第三人称单数 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• We therefore investigated whether hypercoagulability mediates a beneficial effect during denovo atherogenesis. 因此我们研究了高凝在原位动脉粥样硬化形成中是否介导了有益的作用。
• Not happy when the mood that how mediates oneself? 不开心的时候怎样调解自己的情绪？

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

13 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

14 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。

15 alienating   

v.使疏远( alienate的现在分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• The phenomena of alienation are widespread. Sports are also alienating. 异化现象普遍存在，体育运动也不例外。 来自互联网
• How can you appeal to them without alienating the mainstream crowd? 你是怎么在不疏忽主流玩家的情况下吸引住他们呢？ 来自互联网