2006年VOA标准英语-African Ministers, Trade Experts to Discus

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
12 April 2006

Trade experts from all over Africa met Wednesday in the Kenyan capital as part of the African Union's Ministers of Trade conference.  The conference's aim is to get African trade ministers to come up with common positions on trade issues ahead of a World Trade Organization meeting later this year. 

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The World Trade Organization's so-called Doha round of negotiations² is scheduled to conclude at the end of this year.

The Doha round is meant to address the trade and development concerns of poor countries in Africa and elsewhere in such areas as agriculture, the cotton industry, and countries' access to international markets for products and services.

African trade ministers, experts, and other officials are meeting in Kenya this week to present a common front to prepare for negotiation¹ deadlines before and in December.

Kenyan assistant trade minister Abdul Ali Hassan says a key concern is that African countries are not competitive in world markets primarily because developed countries have adopted policies that protect their own economies at the expense of Africa.

"The substantive³ issue between Africa and our development partners is to negotiate for a fair playing field in trade," Hassan said. "Africa is supposed to have a comparative advantage in agricultural and primary commodities, but the developed countries provide subsidies⁴, and thus African farmers cannot compete."

Hassan says, to develop fully⁵, African countries need markets that are truly open.

"Although we enjoy some preferences in the EU [European Union] market, some of our products are subjected to high tariff⁶ peaks and escalation," he said. "In view of the above, Africa needs to negotiate for a new pact⁷ guaranteeing open market for her exports. Such a commitment will prove to both sides that the long period of marginalization is over."

The British aid agency Oxfam Wednesday released a statement calling on the World Trade Organization to take seriously the African Union's positions and concerns.

The agency says that, although the European Union and the United States have agreed to eliminate agricultural export subsidies by 2013, they have not protected Africa from surges in imports, food dumping, and other harmful practices.

Mouhamet Lamine Ndiaye is a policy adviser⁸ for Oxfam International. He says there are many shortcomings in the proposals being negotiated and that World Trade Organization deadlines do not give enough time to resolve these problems.

"The development issues should be at the center of these negotiations. What we have found out is that developed countries are pushing developing countries, but mainly African countries, so that African countries open up their market and that would be very negative for the farmers, for the poor population, and for our economies," Ndiaye said. "We need to slow down, and we should not just sign this declaration just because there is a deadline in 2006."

Oxfam Wednesday presented Kenyan Trade Minister Mukisa Kituyi with a petition signed by 350,000 Kenyans calling for trade reforms that would help African economies.

In addition to issues related to the Doha negotiations, the trade ministers are also expected to discuss migration⁹ issues, cooperation with China, economic agreements with the European Union, the formation of an African common market, and policies to regulate development aid.  

1 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。

2 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。

3 substantive   

adj.表示实在的；本质的、实质性的；独立的；n.实词，实名词；独立存在的实体

参考例句：

• They plan to meet again in Rome very soon to begin substantive negotiations.他们计划不久在罗马再次会晤以开始实质性的谈判。
• A president needs substantive advice,but he also requires emotional succor. 一个总统需要实质性的建议，但也需要感情上的支持。

4 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

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 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。

8 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

9 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。