VOA慢速英语--美国和英国在贸易谈判中就农业问题发生冲突

US, Britain Clash Over Farming Issues During Trade Talks

Britain and the United States have opened exploratory talks on a trade agreement. Such an agreement would take effect after Britain officially leaves the European Union.

The withdrawal¹, known as Brexit, is set for March 29.

Sharp differences have arisen between British and U.S. officials over agricultural issues. Britain is resisting U.S. demands to open its markets to farm products currently banned under EU law.

The most widely reported example is Europe’s import ban on American "chlorinated chicken." In the United States, the meat processing industry washes chickens in chlorine to remove harmful bacteria. Europe says that an over-dependence on chlorine lowers overall production and cleanliness on poultry² farms.

U.S. officials are disputing the claim.

Use of artificial growth hormones⁴

The European Union has also banned imports of meat from American cows that have been treated with artificial growth hormones. Natural hormones control growth in animal or plant cells.

American farmers use artificial hormones to increase the size of animals or to increase milk production. But EU officials warn that one commonly used growth hormone³ may cause cancer. They add there is not enough scientific information on other hormones to approve their use in food.

U.S. officials have made it clear that any future trade deal with Britain must see these food bans dropped.

Former U.S. lawmaker Darrell Issa is President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. government’s Trade and Development Agency. Issa says that the millions of Britons visiting the United States every year enjoy perfectly⁵ safe food.

“We’d like to have that arrangement being one in which, in Britain, you can choose to have American chicken, American beef, or other agricultural products, just as you could when you come to the United States. It is a key lynchpin of an agreement. Financial, manufacturing and agriculture have to be free and fair.”

The U.S. ambassador to Britain, Woody Johnson, recently wrote about the issue in Britain’s The Telegraph newspaper. He attacked what he called “myths” over American farming, claiming they are part of an effort to protect the interests of British farmers.

British food quality concerns

Britain has repeatedly said that it will not lower food quality rules after it leaves the EU. In answer to Ambassador Johnson’s comments, British international trade minister Liam Fox said his country would not compromise.

Fox spoke⁶ to the British Broadcasting Corporation.

“Will we accept things that we believe are against the interests of our consumers or our producers? No, we won't. It's a negotiation⁷.”

The dispute over American meat imports is also influencing debate over the Irish border, a major issue in Britain’s attempt to cancel its EU membership.

British and EU officials want to avoid border inspections⁸ between Northern Ireland, which is part of Britain, and the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar recently expressed fears that the border could open a back door into the EU. In other words, EU members might import products that fail to meet their food safety requirements.

Varadkar told reporters, “If at some point in the future the United Kingdom were to allow chlorinated chicken or beef with hormones into their markets, we wouldn't want that coming into our markets or the European Union as well.”

The United States says a trade deal would help British industries, like financial services. And Britain appears interested in strengthening its position in the post-Brexit world as an international trading power.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

poultry – adj. chickens or birds raised for their meat

artificial – adj. not natural; produced by someone or something

arrangement – n. the organization of something

myth – n. a belief or tradition about someone or something

lynchpin – n. something that holds together different parts that exist or operate together as one

consumer – n. one that uses products or services

allow – v. to permit

1 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

2 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

3 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

4 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

5 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

6 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。

7 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

8 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》