2007年VOA标准英语-Global Trade Talks Stall as Free Trade Agreemen

By Claudia Blume
Hong Kong
02 May 2007

As the latest World Trade Organization round of talks loses momentum¹, bilateral² and regional free trade agreements are mushrooming in Asia. Claudia Blume reports from VOA's Asia News Center in Hong Kong.

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US Trade Representative Wendy Cutler, left,  and South Korean counterpart, Ambassador Kim Jong-hoon during a joint news conference in Seoul,  02 Apr 2007

After 10 months of tough negotiations⁵, the United States sealed a free-trade pact⁶ with South Korea at the beginning of April. A few days later, Japan and Thailand signed a free-trade deal. The two pacts⁷ are but the latest of a rising number of bilateral trade agreements in the region.

According to the Asian Development Bank, 150 bilateral free trade agreements had either been signed or were under negotiation⁴ last year in Asia.

And more than 40 trade deals were either signed or negotiated by groupings of more than two countries.  The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, for example, aims to abolish tariffs⁸ by 2015 under a regional trade deal, and is negotiating agreements with China, Japan, and South Korea.

The mushrooming of free trade pacts in the past few years is partly a defensive⁹ response to regional trading blocs¹⁰ elsewhere in the world, such as the European Union or the North American Free Trade Agreement. Jose Tongzon is an expert on international trade at the Australian Maritime¹¹ College.

"The reaction on the part of the countries in Southeast Asia as well as in other parts of Asia was that they could be discriminated¹² against in favor of the European Union members and in North America so in order to counteract¹³ that event, to maintain the leverage¹⁴, their bargaining power, they started to deepen also their economic integration¹⁵," Tongzon said.

Malcolm Cook, program director at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Australia, says dissatisfaction with the slow pace of global trade talks also plays a large role in the push for regional or bilateral deals.

Cook says the export-dependent East Asian countries in particular are strong supporters of global approaches to trade policy. But they are disappointed by the failure of the Doha round, the latest round of talks in the World Trade Organization.

"East Asia was the last remaining region that was a strong supporter and put most of its trade policy eggs in the multilateral basket. But with the repeated deaths of the Doha round, without a doubt their trade experts have decided¹⁶ that the multilateral system is moving too slowly," Cook said.

He says trade pacts in the region are not only about commerce, investments and services but are also political agreements to strengthen relations between states. Cook says a growing strategic rivalry¹⁸ between China and Japan has made them sign trade agreements with other Asian countries - as a way to expand their influence in the region.

Most experts view free trade agreements, which lower trade barriers among participants but allow them to maintain barriers toward the rest of the world - as a second-best solution, compared with the ultimate goal of global trade liberalizations.

But Jose Tongzon says since multilateral trade talks have stalled, the proliferation of bilateral trade pacts has some advantages.

"The positive aspects of course would be that it is much quicker to achieve free trade because you are dealing¹⁹ with fewer countries and usually countries that are geographically²⁰ close, and would probably have similar economic priorities and interests, so it's much easier to come to (a) consensus," Tongzon said.

One of the pitfalls²¹ of the growing number of bilateral agreements, however, is the so-called spaghetti bowl effect. This means that overlapping²² regulations of countries with different agreements can complicate²³ trade.

Liqun Jin is vice¹⁷ president of the Asian Development Bank, a non-profit lending institution in Manila.

"This spaghetti-bowl effect is not something we think can work very well," Jin said. "As you know it's cumbersome²⁴, it's time-consuming and it's complicated."

Malcolm Cook says another problem of free trade agreements is that they allow governments to protect sacred sectors²⁵.

"Even in the example (of) the South Korea - U.S. FTA, the Koreans were able to keep rice out of the agreement and if you look at China's FTAs with Southeast Asia, both sides have left out quite a few sensitive sectors," Cook said.

Another difficulty, he says, is that most governments in the region only have a limited number of experienced trade negotiators, who now spend most of their time on bilateral pacts. This could take their focus away from the much larger task of reaching an agreement through the World Trade Organization.

Liqun Jin at the ADB is more optimistic.

"I think it's very likely certain bilateral agreements, and multilateral, sub-regional or regional free trade agreements can merge²⁶, can be consolidated²⁸ once they have agreements - among two countries, three countries, a couple of countries, a group of countries," Jin said. "I don't think it will be terribly difficult to consolidate²⁷ all these agreements."

The ADB says regional integration and cooperation are vital for prosperity in Asia and that consolidating²⁹ the snowballing number of bilateral trade agreements would help achieve that goal. 

1 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

2 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。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 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。

5 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。

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。

7 pacts   

条约( pact的名词复数 )； 协定； 公约

参考例句：

• Vassals can no longer accept one-sided defensive pacts (!). 附庸国不会接受单方面的共同防御协定。
• Well, they are EU members now and have formed solidarity pacts with members such as Poland. 他们现在已经是欧盟的一部分了并且他们和欧盟成员诸如波兰等以签署了合作协议。

8 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。

9 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

10 blocs   

n.集团，联盟( bloc的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The division of Europe into warring blocs produces ever-increasing centrifugal stress. 把欧洲分为作战集团产生了越来越大的离心效果。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The policy of the two blocs was played out. 把世界分为两个集团的政策已经过时了。 来自辞典例句

11 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

12 discriminated   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• His great size discriminated him from his followers. 他的宽广身材使他不同于他的部下。
• Should be a person that has second liver virus discriminated against? 一个患有乙肝病毒的人是不是就应该被人歧视？

13 counteract   

vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消

参考例句：

• The doctor gave him some medicine to counteract the effect of the poison.医生给他些药解毒。
• Our work calls for mutual support.We shouldn't counteract each other's efforts.工作要互相支持，不要互相拆台。

14 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。

15 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

16 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

17 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

18 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

19 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

20 geographically   

adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe. 从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。 来自辞典例句
• All these events, however geographically remote, urgently affected Western financial centers. 所有这些事件，无论发生在地理上如何遥远的地方，都对西方金融中心产生紧迫的影响。 来自名作英译部分

21 pitfalls   

（捕猎野兽用的）陷阱( pitfall的名词复数 )； 意想不到的困难，易犯的错误

参考例句：

• the potential pitfalls of buying a house 购买房屋可能遇到的圈套
• Several pitfalls remain in the way of an agreement. 在达成协议的进程中还有几个隐藏的困难。

22 overlapping   

adj./n.交迭（的）

参考例句：

• There is no overlapping question between the two courses. 这两门课程之间不存在重叠的问题。
• A trimetrogon strip is composed of three rows of overlapping. 三镜头摄影航线为三排重迭的象片所组成。

23 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

24 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。

25 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

26 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

27 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

28 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。

29 consolidating   

v.（使）巩固， （使）加强( consolidate的现在分词 )；（使）合并

参考例句：

• These measures are meant for consolidating the system of basic medical care. 这些举措旨在夯实基层医疗体系，让老百姓看大病不必出远门。 来自互联网
• We are consolidating the Chinese and English versions of our homepage. 我们将为您提供中英文版本一起的主页。 来自互联网