VOA慢速英语2018 美国关税引发与美国盟友贸易战的担忧

US Tariffs² Raise Fears of Trade War with American Allies

The United States says it will require tariffs on steel and aluminum³ imports from Europe, Mexico and Canada.

美国表示将对从欧洲、墨西哥和加拿大进口的钢铁和铝材征收关税。

U.S. officials announced the tariffs are a result of their failure to win trade concessions⁵. Officials said the import taxes would take effect on Friday.

美国官员宣布这些关税是因为他们未能获得贸易让步的结果。有关官员表示，这些进口关税将于周五生效。

The announcement led to promises of action from major American allies, rising trade tensions and a drop in stock prices.

这一消息导致美国的主要盟国许诺要采取行动，加剧了贸易紧张局势，股价有所下跌。

President Donald Trump⁶ had announced the tariffs in March. Trump said they were needed to protect the United States from unfair competition. But he delayed the measure to give time for negotiations⁷.

川普总统在三月宣布了这些关税。川普声称他们需要防止美国遭受不公平竞争。但是他推迟了这项措施以留下谈判的时间。

The tariffs will be 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum.

对进口钢铁的关税将为25%，对铝材的关税将为10%。

Europe and Mexico reacted to the U.S. move with their own lists of tariffs on American products, raising fears of a trade war among allies.

欧洲和墨西哥提出了对美国产品的关税清单，以此对美国的举动做出反应。这引发了盟国之间发生贸易战的担忧。

Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, called the U.S. decision “protectionism, pure and simple.”

欧盟委员会主席容克称美国的决定是“纯粹和简单的贸易保护主义。”

Last March, the European Union prepared a list of possible tariffs on American goods, including orange juice, peanut butter, clothing, whiskey, boats and motorcycles.

3月，欧盟编制了对美国商品可能征收关税的清单，其中包括橙汁、花生酱、服装、威士忌、船舶和摩托车。

Mexico said it would tax a number of U.S. imports, including pork bellies⁸, apples, grapes, cheeses and flat steel.

墨西哥表示，将对一些美国产品征收关税，包括猪肚、苹果、葡萄、奶酪和扁钢。

In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the U.S. tariffs “totally unacceptable.”

加拿大总理特鲁多称美国的关税“完全无法接受。”

Trudeau said Canada supplied “aluminum and steel to the U.S. defense⁹ industry, putting aluminum in American planes and steel in American tanks.” He promised to add Canadian tariffs on a number of American goods.

特鲁多表示，加拿大向美国的国防工业提供铝和钢，将铝用于美国飞机，将钢用于美国坦克上。他许诺要向一些美国产品征收关税。

Brazil, Argentina and Australia have agreed to limit steel shipments to the U.S. to avoid tariffs. But import taxes remain on steel and aluminum imports from Japan.

巴西、阿根廷和澳大利亚已经同意限制对美国钢铁出口以避免关税。但是从日本的钢铁和铝材仍然面临着关税。

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross spoke¹⁰ to reporters on Thursday. He said that talks with Canada and Mexico over amending¹¹ the North American Free Trade Agreement were “taking longer than we had hoped.”

美国商务部长罗斯周四对记者发表了讲话。他说，与加拿大和墨西哥就修改北美自由贸易协定的谈判“花费的时间超过了我们的预期。”

Speaking from a meeting in Paris, Ross noted¹² that talks with Europe had “made some progress,” but not enough for the U.S. He said, “We continue to be quite willing and indeed eager to have further discussions.”

罗斯在巴黎召开的会议上指出，与欧洲的谈判已经取得了一些进展，但是对美国来说还不够。他说：“我们一直非常愿意并且渴望进一步讨论。”

German Chancellor¹³ Angela Merkel expressed opposition¹⁴ to the rising trade tensions before the U.S. announcement. She said the tariffs were in violation¹⁵ of the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

德国总理默克尔在美国公布之前对贸易紧张局势加剧表示了反对。她说，这些关税违反了世贸组织的规定。

After the U.S. action, the European Union announced plans to bring its case against the U.S. tariffs to the WTO on Friday.

在美国采取行动之后，欧盟宣布计划于周五在世贸组织对美国的关税提出上诉。

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire criticized the tariffs. He said they “will only lead to the victory of those who want less growth, those who don’t think we can develop our economies across the world.”

法国财政部长勒梅尔也批评这些关税。他说，这只会让那些希望经济增长缩水，那些认为我们不能在世界各地发展我们经济的人获胜。

Even some of Trump’s supporters criticized the measures.

即使是川普的支持者也对此提出了批评。

U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch said, “Tariffs on steel and aluminum imports are a tax hike on Americans.” He added that it would hurt both workers and businesses. Like Trump, Hatch is a member of the Republican Party.

美国参议员奥林·哈奇（Orrin Hatch）表示：“对钢铁和铝材征收关税是对美国人民加税。”他补充说，这会同时伤害到企业和员工。哈奇跟川普一样是共和党员。

The groups Freedom Partners Chamber¹⁶ of Commerce and Americans for Prosperity said the tariffs would hurt the nation’s economy and low unemployment rates.

自由贸易伙伴商会以及美国繁荣委员会等组织表示，这些关税将会损害美国的经济和低失业率。

U.S. presidential spokesman Raj Shah told Fox News: “The president’s actions are about protecting American steel, American aluminum. They’re critical for national security.”

美国总统发言人拉吉·沙赫（Raj Shah）对福克斯新闻表示：“川普总统此举是为了保护美国钢铁和铝材，它们对美国国家安全至关重要。”

I'm Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

tariff¹ - n. a tax on goods coming into or leaving a country

concession⁴ - n. something that you give up to reach an agreement

whiskey - n. a strong alcoholic¹⁷ drink made from grain

motorcycle - n. a vehicle with two wheels powered by a motor

pork bellies - n. are the cut of pork that comes from the belly¹⁸ of a pig

hike - n. a sudden increase

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

5 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

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 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。

8 bellies   

n.肚子( belly的名词复数 )；腹部；（物体的）圆形或凸起部份；腹部…形的

参考例句：

• They crawled along on their bellies. 他们匍匐前进。
• starving children with huge distended bellies 鼓着浮肿肚子的挨饿儿童

9 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。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 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。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

14 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。

15 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

16 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

17 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

18 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。