VOA慢速英语--中美贸易战对一些国家来说是好消息

US-China Trade War Is Good News for Some Countries

As with any war, there are winners and losers. That is also the case with the trade war between China and the United States.

As the two sides battle, companies affected¹ by high tariffs² are looking to manufacture their products elsewhere. So businesses operating in other countries are experiencing economic growth.

Two factories in Vietnam manufacture electric bicycles for Pedego, an American company based in California. About 80 percent of Pedego’s bicycle parts once came from China, but not anymore.

“Now, we’re probably 70 percent in Vietnam, and 30 percent in Taiwan,” said Don DiCostanzo. He is a co-founder of the company and its chief executive officer.

Shift to Vietnam

In February 2018, DiCostanzo decided³ to move production to Vietnam because of the threat of high European Union tariffs on Chinese-made electric bikes. Production in Vietnam started seven months later, in September. That was the same month the U.S government ordered tariffs on Chinese-made products that included electric bikes.

“We then were immediately able to accelerate that production,” DiCostanza said. “And we began producing bikes in Vietnam for this country (the U.S.) in September right after the tariffs went in place, and by Jan. 1, (2019), we eliminated all production in China and managed to move all of our production…to Vietnam.”

By the beginning of 2019, the factories in Vietnam were producing bicycles for Pedego. While some parts are still coming from China, DiCostanzo kept looking in other countries for those parts. In time, Pedego’s need for Chinese-manufactured parts slowly decreased.

Trade war helps Vietnam and Mexico

Pedego is not the only company moving manufacturing away from China because of the trade war.

The U.S.-based company GoPro moved production of cameras for the American market from China to Mexico in June. GoPro said it made the move because of “possible tariffs as well as recognize some cost savings⁴ and efficiencies.”

GoPro’s cameras for markets other than the United States continue to be made in China.

“The two countries that are benefiting the most are Vietnam and Mexico…And everybody else is looking at them with envy,” said Kevin Klowden. He heads the Center for Regional Economics at the Milken Institute, a research center based in Santa Monica, California.

The U.S. Census⁵ Bureau reports that goods imported from Mexico increased by more than 6 percent for the first six months of 2019, compared to the same time in 2018. It said imports from Vietnam during that same period rose by more than 33 percent. Chinese imports for the same period decreased by more than 12 percent.

“The Vietnamese government has done a (great) job of making themselves ready and available…as a direct competitor to China for a while, particularly on cost,” Klowden said.

DiCostanzo said he found the quality of products from Vietnam was better than those from China.

Return manufacturing to US

Manufacturing and outsourcing products in a worldwide economy is a tricky⁶ business, however. Unusual weather, political unrest or even the appearance of a less costly⁷ competitor can cause businesses to turn to a different manufacturer.

“Manufacturing has shown itself to be mobile in a way that we never could have imagined years ago,” Klowden said.

Some companies in the United States, such as Pedego, would like to manufacture their products in a U.S. community some day.

“A number of companies would like to move manufacturing back to the U.S. just…because of stability. (But) manufacturing that moves back to the U.S. employs…fewer people than it would have 20, 30 years ago,” Klowden explained.

Any business that manufactures in the U.S. and can successfully compete in the current economy would use robots.

“These robots, you don’t have to pay them overtime⁸, and they don’t have to take time off, and they work 24/7,” Pedego’s DiCostanzo said.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

tariffs – n. a tax on goods coming into or leaving a country

bicycle – n. a 2-wheeled vehicle that a person rides by pushing on foot pedals

accelerate – v. to move faster

eliminate – v. to remove something that is not wanted

benefit – v. to receive a gain or profit; to help or aid

envy – n. the feeling of wanting to have what someone else has

outsource – v. to give work to a foreign supplier

mobile – adj. able to move from one place to another

stability – n. firmness; security or safety

24/7 – adj. to operate 24 hours a day seven days a week

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

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 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

5 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

6 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。