2006年VOA标准英语-Global Trade Goals in Danger With Collapse of W

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
27 July 2006

International trade talks have collapsed², stalling five years of effort to ease poverty in developing nations by liberalizing global commerce.  The impasse³ may mean trade will become more complex and expensive, especially for nations that can least afford it.

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WTO Director General, Pascal Lamy of France, reacts prior to the opening session of the World Trade Organization General Council in Geneva, July 27, 2006 
  
World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy made it clear there is little hope for a trade deal this year, after key trading powers put negotiations⁴ on indefinite hold.

"How long a time out? The end of the time out can only come when members are ready to play ball," he said. "But that ball is clearly now in their court."

Since 2001, the members of the World Trade Organization have debated how to achieve the goals set at a conference in Doha, Qatar. The Doha Development Agenda's main aim is to bring the benefits of greater trade to the world's poorest countries.

Just last December, at the WTO ministerial conference in Hong Kong, it appeared differences were narrowing. The United States and the European Union granted more market access to the world's poorest countries, and there was optimism that the framework for a final deal could be reached by the end of April.

But then talks bogged⁵ down in key areas. First, agriculture: Major agricultural exporters, including some developing nations, wanted rich governments, such as the U.S., the EU and Japan, to open their markets by cutting farm subsidies⁶ and tariffs⁷.

But the rich countries could not agree on cuts to farm supports. EU Trade Commissioner⁸ Peter Mandelson was blunt.

"We do not have in place the once and for all multilateral program of fundamental reform of farm subsidies in the rich world that should be the centerpiece of this round," said Mandelson.

On the other side of things, the EU, the U.S., and other developed countries wanted developing nations, especially growing trade powers such as India and Brazil, to open their markets to imported industrial goods and services.

Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said those demands did not end trade practices in many rich countries that make it harder for poor countries to enter markets.

"We say, correct the distortions. There should be fair trade, not only free trade," he said.  "And they say if we get the market access of the kind we want, then we will remove the distortions. There is no equity⁹ in that."

He says India will now focus its energy on regional and bilateral¹⁰ trade agreements.

Trade experts say many countries are likely to do the same. But Keith Rockwell, the WTO's spokesman, says regional and bilateral deals do not address global trade problems.

"Things like agricultural subsidies just won't be addressed. The sort of global network of services agreements that are so important to telecom companies, express delivery companies, insurance companies - that disappears," Rockwell commented.

Smaller trade deals also often overlap¹¹ and conflict and that can make trade more costly¹² and cumbersome¹³, as companies and governments struggle with separate rules for different countries.

Bilateral and regional agreements also have opponents in many countries, who fear a smaller nation may give away too much in the rush to get access to a bigger market. And in many countries, such as South Korea, powerful political constituencies, such as farmers, may keep government leaders from adopting significant trade liberalizations.

Gawain Kripke, a senior trade policy analyst¹⁴ with the aid group Oxfam International, says the failure of the Doha round means the poorest countries will lose the leverage¹⁵ they have in the WTO There, each country's voice is given equal weight, but in bilateral or regional trade deals, the smallest countries often are ignored.

"For them, there aren't that many options. There's the possibility of bilateral arrangements, but for the poorest countries, there's not that much interest in those markets for rich countries, and therefore, not that much demand for bilateral agreements," added Kripke.

To salvage¹⁶ at least part of the Doha agenda, Kripke says aid organizations like his will hold rich countries to their commitments to give greater market access for the world's poorest countries, and to build trade infrastructure¹⁷ in the developing world.

Mark Nguyen is an international trade lawyer specializing in Southeast Asia. He notes that elections in the next few years in the United States and other major trading powers may distract politicians from the trade talks.

"Nothing is going to happen until countries come back and agree on moving forward," said Nguyen. "If the political will hasn't been generated enough in the past five years, is it ever going to happen?"

Several trade experts say it is unlikely that there will be much movement on the Doha agenda for two or three years.

For developing nations, eager to sell their goods overseas, trade advocates say the collapse¹ of the talks means a missed opportunity to speed economic growth. The World Bank estimated that a successful Doha deal would have boosted global trade by about $100 billion a year - most of which would have gone to developing countries.

1 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

2 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

3 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

4 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。

5 bogged   

adj.陷于泥沼的v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的过去式和过去分词 )；妨碍，阻碍

参考例句：

• The professor bogged down in the middle of his speech. 教授的演讲只说了一半便讲不下去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The tractor is bogged down in the mud. 拖拉机陷入了泥沼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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》

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 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

9 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

10 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

11 overlap   

v.重叠，与…交叠；n.重叠

参考例句：

• The overlap between the jacket and the trousers is not good.夹克和裤子重叠的部分不好看。
• Tiles overlap each other.屋瓦相互叠盖。

12 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。

13 cumbersome   

adj.笨重的，不便携带的

参考例句：

• Although the machine looks cumbersome,it is actually easy to use.尽管这台机器看上去很笨重，操作起来却很容易。
• The furniture is too cumbersome to move.家具太笨，搬起来很不方便。

14 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

15 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

16 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

17 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。