大多数美国总统候选人反对TPP

AS IT IS 2015-11-09 Most US Presidential Candidates Oppose TPP 大多数美国总统候选人反对TPP

More candidates running for president oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership¹ Trade Deal (TPP) than support it.

Democratic frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton is the latest to declare her opposition³ to the deal. The TPP was negotiated by the Obama administration.

As Secretary of State, Clinton described Obama’s TPP as the “gold standard” of trade agreements.

But this month she said the final deal does not appear acceptable.

“I don’t believe it’s going to meet the high bar I have set,” she said.

Senator Bernie Sanders, Clinton’s top challenger for the Democratic presidential nomination⁴, opposed the agreement. He maintained that stance even before the deal was finalized⁵.

“We need trade policies that promote the interests of American workers not just the CEOs of corporations,” he said, after 12 nations announced agreement on the Pacific trade deal Oct. 4.

Republican presidential candidates are divided. Businessman Donald Trump⁶, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee oppose the deal.

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Ohio Governor John Kasich are mostly in support of the agreement.

Others, including former surgeon Ben Carson, said they are waiting for more information before expressing a view.

The U.S. Congress will likely vote to accept or reject the deal long before the winning candidate takes office in January 2017.

Potential trouble in Congress for TPP

The trade agreement eliminates, or reduces tariffs⁷, and other barriers to trade among 12 nations.

Ministers from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan and Malaysia approved the deal. It was also approved by ministers from Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

The approval came on October 4.

Congress has never voted against a major trade deal. The TPP might lack support from U.S. politicians who are running for president or who are trying to keep their congressional seats.

Many U.S. businesses support the trade deal. They say it will export more of their products to Asian markets. But unions fear job losses, and cuts in wages and benefits, if the trade deal is approved.

“Democrats are very much interested in the support of unions, and the labor⁸ movement is opposed to this deal,” said Brian Brox, a political science professor at Tulane University.

He said that most voters may not understand the complicated agreement. But many are likely to see it as being helpful to big businesses rather than American workers.

Also many Republicans are not inclined to support a proposal by President Barack Obama – a Democrat². That makes it harder for a Republican candidate for president to support an agreement his administration negotiated.

“For Republicans, candidates not supporting something backed by President Obama is never a bad idea,” Brox said. In other words, voting against Obama’s projects is good for Republicans.

Trump tweeted comments about the deal that played to Republican primary voters opposed to President Obama. He tweeted that the Obama administration was “incompetant. TPP is a terrible deal.”

Rubio, the Florida senator, said he wants to see more details before taking a firm position.

However, he told CNBC: “I’m generally very much in favor of free trade.”

What is TPP?

The Trans-Pacific Partnership sets rules for investments from one country to another. It includes protections for intellectual property such as patents and computer software.

The deal covers more issues than is the case with some free trade agreements.

It is “basically a free trade agreement on steroids,” Columbia University international economics lecturer Andrea Bubula said on #Hashtag VOA.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said the trade agreement will improve the U.S. economy. It will allow more U.S. products to be exported than foreign products will be imported to the U.S.

U.S. products face tariffs as high as 70 percent on autos, 50 percent on machinery⁹, and 700 percent on certain agricultural products, Froman said.

Eliminating or reducing the high tariffs will make U.S. products more competitive, he said.

Words in This Story

partnership -- n. the state of being partners.

opposition – n. actions or opinions that show that you disagree with or disapprove¹⁰ of someone or something

gold standard – n.  something that is considered to be the best and that is used to judge the quality or level of other, similar things

challenger – n. someone competing against a candidate

on steroids – phrase. Bigger or greater than normal.

negotiations¹¹ – n. something that is considered to be the best and that is used to judge the quality or level of other, similar things

eliminates -- v. --  to remove (something that is not wanted or needed) : to get rid of (something)

complicated – adj.  hard to understand, explain, or deal with

1 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

5 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 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。

7 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。

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

10 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

11 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。