VOA慢速英语--“越南制造”商品在美国受欢迎度创历史新高

Products from Vietnam have become more popular in the United States than ever before.

U.S. imports from the Southeast Asian nation increased 36 percent last year to $67 billion, the U.S. Census¹ Bureau reported. This represents the highest increase in a single year since 2003.

Vietnam is a major supplier of electronic products, furniture, clothing, footwear, and fish to the United States. It also is a major exporter of coffee, rice, and other foods.

Michael Ryan is the director of economics² at IHS Markit Economics, an investment research service. He told VOA the latest increase shows Vietnam is making a "massive³ reorientation" in trade toward the U.S. market.

"The United States has become far and away the most important driver of Vietnam's export engine, accounting⁴ for two-thirds of Vietnam's total export growth in 2019," Ryan said.

After U.S. officials asked Vietnam buy more American goods, the country announced in March it would buy $3 billion worth of farm goods. That promise came after Vietnam said it would buy American-made airplanes.

Less than a year ago, U.S. President Donald Trump⁵ threatened Vietnam with tariffs⁷. He accused Vietnam of abusing the trading system, but did not say how. Trump said he wants to increase U.S. exports to Vietnam to help make up for the much larger levels of imported goods.

Instead, the difference between what the U.S. imports from Vietnam compared to the U.S. exports has increased every year from 2008 to 2019, the Census Bureau found.

Jing Wu is an assistant professor of business at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He told VOA that the trade war did not get companies to move to the United States. Instead, it caused many to move to other nations, like Vietnam, he said.

Wu and others at the university's business school studied the relationship between trade uncertainty⁸ and the movement of companies.

Their research supported the idea that many companies seek out new markets during a trade war. As examples, they named major companies including Apple, Chevron⁹, and Victoria's Secret owner L Brands, which all have moved more business to Vietnam.

Their study was carried out before the arrival of COVID-19. The virus has greatly damaged supply chains and economic activity around the world.

But some businesses say they expect to be active in Vietnam after the crisis¹⁰ and continue to invest there. For example, the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council recently acted on plans to send business representatives to Vietnam.

Words in This Story

furniture – n. objects such as chairs, tables and beds that are put inside rooms or buildings

reorientation – n. the action of changing the focus or direction of something

account for – v. to be part of a total number of something

tariff⁶ – n. a tax on goods coming into or leaving a country

uncertainty – n. the state of not being sure about or not being able to decide something

supply chain – n. the processes involved in the production and sales of a product or products

1 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。

2 economics   

n.经济学，经济情况

参考例句：

• He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学，该学科是很重要的。
• One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。

3 massive   

adj.巨大的，大规模的，大量的，大范围的

参考例句：

• A massive sea search has failed to find any survivors.经过大规模的海上搜救仍未找到幸存者。
• He drank a massive amount of alcohol.他喝了大量的烈酒。

4 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

5 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。

6 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。

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 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

9 chevron   

n.V形臂章；V形图案

参考例句：

• He wore shoulderstrap rank slides with sergeant's chevrons.他佩戴标示级别的肩章，上面有中士的V形标志。
• The chevron or arrow road sign indicates a sharp bend to the left or right.V形或箭头路标表示有向左或向右的急转弯。

10 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。