越南将贸易协定视为建设经济的途径（在线收听）

Vietnam Sees Trade Deals as Way to Build Economy

Vietnam is on a path this year to approve its biggest trade expansion since the country joined the World Trade Organization (WTO).

越南今年朝着核准该国加入世贸组织以来最大贸易扩张的方向迈进。

The country’s National Assembly in Hanoi approved the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership in December. The trade deal became effective on January 14.

去年12月越南国会在河内批准了《全面与进步跨太平洋伙伴关系协定》(CPTPP)，该贸易协定于今年1月14日生效。

The Pacific trade deal would open the markets of Japan and Canada to Vietnam’s products. In addition, the deal will permit Vietnamese to enter 10 countries easily for work-related business.

该协定将为越南产品打开日本和加拿大市场。此外，该协定将允许越南人轻松进入10个国家的工作相关行业。

Vietnam also is seeking to reach a trade agreement with the European Union soon. The two trade agreements together would sharply reduce trade barriers with countries that account for 45 percent of the world’s economy.

越南也在寻求同欧盟尽快达成贸易协定。这两项贸易协定加起来将会大幅降低越南进入一些国家的贸易壁垒，这些国家占据了全球经济的45%。

Lawmakers of other countries in the Pacific partnership are in the process of approving the deal. Six countries have already approved it meaning that it is likely to legally go into effect.

太平洋伙伴关系中其它国家的议员也正处于批准该协议的过程中。6个国家已经批准该协议，这意味着它很有可能在法律上生效。

Vietnam hopes that the EU approves this year the free trade deal which the two sides negotiated in 2015.

越南希望欧盟今年能够批准双方在2015年谈判达成的自由贸易协定。

Experts say that the two major trade deals will speed growth of the country’s growing middle class. They also help Vietnam compete with China as a place where international companies want to build factories.

专家表示，这两项重要的贸易协定将会加速该国日益壮大的中产阶级的成长。他们还将帮助越南同中国竞争，成为国际公司愿意建厂的地方。

Frederick Burke is with the international law group Baker McKenzie in Ho Chi Minh City. He said, “Vietnam will enjoy a comparatively lower duty rate in some export markets where it competes.”

弗雷德里克·伯克(Frederick Burke)就职于贝克·麦坚时(Baker McKenzie)国际法律组织。他说：“越南将在它参与竞争的一些出口市场享受到相对较低的税率。”

Burke added that foreign direct investment already has increased as much as it did when Vietnam joined the WTO. When foreign companies build factories and gain interest in a country’s companies, it is called foreign direct investment.

伯克补充表示，外国直接投资已经取得了跟当时越南加入世贸时同等的增长。当外国公司建厂并在某国的公司获得收益，这被称作外国直接投资。

Vietnam hopes for trade gains

越南希望获得贸易收益

Vietnam may be one of the nations that gain the most from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership. That is because exports are such an important part of the country’s growth. Exports are estimated to have reached $200 billion in 2017. Other countries in the Pacific deal are expected to have trade deficits with Vietnam.

越南可能是从CPTPP协定中受益最大的国家之一，这是因为出口占据该国经济增长的重要组成部分。预计2017年该国出口达到了2千亿美元，CPTPP协定中的其他国家预计会与越南存在贸易逆差。

Since 1986, Vietnam has sought foreign direct investment in factories that make clothing and electronic devices. It entered the WTO in 2007.

自1986年以来，越南一直寻求外资对生产服装和电子设备工厂进行直接投资。该国于2007年加入了世贸组织。

Adam McCarty is chief economist with Mekong Economics in Hanoi. He said, with the new agreement, low-cost manufactured goods like shoes will be less costly to export to countries like Australia.

亚当·麦卡蒂(Adam McCarty)是河内湄公河经济（公司）的首席经济学家。他说，有了这项新的协议，鞋这类低价值制成品出口到澳大利亚等国的成本将会更低。

European and Pacific countries hope trade deals with Vietnam will let them sell products to that country’s growing middle class. The Boston Consulting Group predicts that will mean more than 30 million people by next year.

欧洲和太平洋国家希望与越南的贸易协定能让他们把产品卖给该国不断壮大的中产阶级。波士顿咨询公司预测这一人群明年将会超过3千万人。

However, as a member of the trade partnership, Vietnam must permit independent labor unions. Vietnam also must have rules so that companies from partnership countries can make bids for business. And Vietnam will have to protect partners’ intellectual property rights.

但是，作为这项贸易伙伴关系的成员，越南必须允许独立的工会，还必须制定规则，以便来自伙伴关系国家的公司参加商业竞标。同时越南还必须保护合作伙伴的知识产权。

McCarty said if Vietnam closely observes the Pacific trade agreement it will further show that it is different from China. Vietnam already stands out for its lower labor costs.

麦卡蒂表示，如果越南严格遵守太平洋贸易协定，将进一步展现该国与中国的不同。越南已经因劳动力成本更低而脱颖而出。

Trung Nguyen heads international relations at Ho Chi Minh University of Social Sciences and Humanities. He said Vietnam wants to follow the deal’s rules. “They want (to) get some new momentum for Vietnam’s economy, and TPP is one of the solutions,” he said.

任阮忠(Trung Nguyen)是胡志明社科与人文大学国际关系系主任。他表示，越南希望遵守该协定的规则。他说：“他们希望为越南经济带来一些新的势头，而TPP协定就是解决办法之一。”

I’m Mario Ritter Jr.

Words in This Story

class –n. a group of people in a society who are at the same economic and social level

bid –v. to make an offer to pay a certain amount or to do work for a certain amount of money

intellectual property –n. something such as an idea, invention or process that comes from a person’s mind

momentum –n. the force that something has when it is moving