占全球40％经济总量国家正式签署TPP协议

AS IT IS 2016-02-06 40% of World’s Economy Signs TPP Trade Deal 占全球40％经济总量国家正式签署TPP协议

Representatives of 12 countries have signed a major free trade agreement for East Asia and the Pacific.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership¹ (TPP) was officially signed at a ceremony Thursday in Auckland, New Zealand. News media released pictures of some ministers rubbing noses. For native New Zealanders, rubbing noses is a sign of good will.

The nations that make up the TPP are responsible for 40 percent of the world’s economy. They include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan and Malaysia. The other nations are Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the United States.

In a statement, U.S. President Barack Obama called the agreement a forward-looking trade deal that sets new, high ideals for trade and investment. He said the pact² suspends thousands of taxes and supports a free and open Internet. Obama said it also prevents unfair laws that restrict the free flow of information. And, he added, that it includes strong words in support of fair labor³ policies and environmental protection.

But the signing ceremony was, in some ways, only the beginning of a new process. The 12 nations have two years to ratify⁴ or reject the agreement.

The United States Congress passed trade promotion⁵ authority for the president in June 2015. It requires Congress to either approve or reject trade agreements without adding to or amending⁶ them.

However, Congress has yet to consider the huge free trade agreement. It also will take some time to study the thousands of pages in the agreement.

Michael Froman is the U.S. Trade Representative. He says his office will work to persuade members of Congress that the deal should be passed. He says the estimated increase to exports for the U.S. will be $350 billion a year.

The TPP is designed to cut tariffs⁷, or import taxes, that free trade supporters say are barriers to trade. Without these barriers, supporters say, more goods and services will flow across borders, increasing trade and economic activity.

Gary Hufbauer is with the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He told VOA that, while tariffs will eventually be dropped, that will not happen immediately.

“..The barriers, the tariffs, in the case of goods, do not go to zero immediately. That takes some year, maybe about 10 years, depending on the product.”

Labor groups in the United States, however, oppose the TPP. They are concerned that low-cost imports will flood the U.S. market. This would drive prices down and limit the wages that American employers pay their workers.

Labor leaders have voiced opposition⁸. They say trade agreements should protect wages and improve labor conditions for workers.

It remains⁹ to be seen when the TPP agreement will be voted on in the Senate. Gary Hufbauer says if the deal is not brought to a vote by July, the agreement might be voted on after a new U.S. president takes office next year.

Words in This Story

pact – n. a formal agreement between countries, people or groups

ratify – v. to make an agreement or treaty official by signing it or voting for it

authority – n. the power to give orders or make decisions, the power to control something

tariffs – n. taxes on imports or exports

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 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

3 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。

4 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

5 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

6 amending   

改良，修改，修订( amend的现在分词 )； 改良，修改，修订( amend的第三人称单数 )( amends的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Amending acts in 1933,1934, and 1935 attempted to help honest debtors rehabilitate themselves. 一九三三年，一九三四年和一九三五年通过的修正案是为了帮助诚实的债务人恢复自己的地位。
• Two ways were used about the error-amending of contour curve. 采用两种方法对凸轮轮廓曲线进行了修正。

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 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。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。