2007年VOA标准英语-Key Trade Ministers Fail to Achieve Breakthroug

By Steve Herman
New Delhi
12 April 2007

Ministers from six key economies failed to clinch¹ a world trade liberalization deal Thursday, but, after a meeting in New Delhi, have proposed a new deadline to complete the negotiations². VOA's Steve Herman reports from New Delhi.

With six trade ministers from major economic powers in one room there was anticipation³ of a breakthrough for stalled talks on liberalizing global commerce.

When they emerged late Thursday to face reporters in a New Delhi hotel, Brazil's foreign minister Celso Amorim announced no breakthrough, but some progress.

"No breakthrough reached in New Delhi - that's probably the headline tomorrow," he said. "[But] I do believe that we had, well, if not exactly a breakthrough, a big step ahead in terms of process."

The ministers from Australia, Brazil, the European Union, India, Japan and the United States announced that they agreed to try by the end of the year to conclude the so-called Doha round of 150-member World Trade Organization talks.

U.S. trade representative Susan Schwab says top trade officials now have a sense of urgency that hopefully can be translated into action.

"Unfortunately the history of the Doha Round up to this point has been the setting of artificial deadlines and the failure to meet those deadlines," she said.

The United States has resisted making deeper cuts to subsidies⁴ for American farmers. That has prompted the Europeans to hold firm on protecting their farmers.

On the other hand, the U.S. and European Union want countries such as Brazil and India to further open their booming domestic markets to manufactured goods and agricultural imports.

Australia's trade minister Warren Truss

Australia's trade minister, Warren Truss, says Washington and Brussels should not be expected to make all the concessions⁵.

"We can't expect the Americans or the Europeans to do it all. India will have to do something. Australia will have to do something," said Truss. "The world will have to develop a spirit of compromise to achieve something that is very important."

In another sign of the distance still to be traveled, India's commerce and industries minister Kamal Nath told reporters his country will not compromise the interests of millions of its subsistence farmers.

U.S. President Bush has special powers to negotiate a trade deal. But those so-called "fast track" powers expire June 30 unless Congress extends them.

Some negotiators say an international agreement is needed before then in order to encourage U.S. lawmakers to extend the president's authority, which would allow him to present the Congress with a trade pact⁶ for a straight up or down vote.

1 clinch   

v.敲弯，钉牢；确定；扭住对方 [参]clench

参考例句：

• Clinch the boards together.用钉子把木板钉牢在一起。
• We don't accept us dollars,please Swiss francs to clinch a deal business.我方不收美元，请最好用瑞士法郎来成交生意。

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 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

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 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

6 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。