美国国家公共电台 NPR--Biden announces plans to revoke Russia's trade relations status

Biden announces plans to revoke¹ Russia's trade relations status

Transcript²

President Biden took new steps to curb³ U.S. trade with Russia to punish Moscow for invading Ukraine — including banning imports of vodka and caviar.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The United States and its allies are taking more steps to shut Russia out of the world trading system. This morning, President Biden announced the United States, NATO and the EU are all revoking⁴ Russia's favored trading status in various nations. The U.S. is also banning imports of Russian vodka and caviar. NPR's Scott Detrow is covering this story. Hey there, Scott.

SCOTT DETROW, BYLINE⁵: Hey, good morning.

INSKEEP: So while we're talking about more and more steps that just feel more and more permanent, it's hard to imagine a lot of these things going back to just the way they were. What's the goal here?

DETROW: Yeah, it really feels like that divide from the Cold War is back when it comes to Russia isolated⁶ from the rest of the world. This is happening because Biden and other world leaders want to put as much pressure on possible on Vladimir Putin to stop these increasingly devastating⁷ attacks on Ukraine. But at the same time, Biden explicitly⁸ said today he does not want to begin World War III. He does not want American soldiers fighting Russian soldiers in Ukraine. So he's instead used economic weapons.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Putin is an aggressor. He is the aggressor, and Putin must pay the price. He cannot pursue a war that threatens the very foundations - which he's doing - the very foundations of international peace and stability.

DETROW: And Biden has talked about trying to crush the Russian economy in this moment. There are a lot of signs it's working, and the country is being cut off from world trade more and more each week.

INSKEEP: I'm thinking about Russian exports. There's oil, which the U.S. is cutting off. There's weapons, which the U.S. at least doesn't buy a lot of, but other countries do. And then there's a number of luxury goods which get targeted today.

DETROW: There were. Biden talked about signature elements of the Russian export economy. That includes Russian alcohol, seafood⁹, diamonds. You know, vodka and caviar, two things you think about when you think about Russian exports, those are being banned. Biden also added more names to a list of people who are blocked from dealing¹⁰ with the U.S. financial system. This is an attempt to drive a wedge between Putin and the oligarchs who support his regime. Biden said today that these are people who steal from the Russian people and they should share in the pain of these sanctions hurting the Russian economy. And another way to target these oligarchs - Russians also will not be able to buy American watches, high-end clothing, jewelry¹¹ and other luxury goods, which are being banned from being imported into Russia.

INSKEEP: All this, of course, is being done to support Ukraine. But Ukraine's president, who spoke¹² with Biden today, has not been happy that the U.S. is not doing a little more.

DETROW: He has been - Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been urging, among other things, for NATO to impose a no-fly zone for NATO countries to give Ukraine jets. Biden has repeatedly made it very clear - you know, as I said before, he does not want a direct engagement with Russia in Ukraine right now. And the White House seems to be taking - being very careful about what constitutes military engagement. You've seen the U.S. and allies providing a lot of military supplies to Ukraine, but they drew the line this week when they rejected that Polish plan that would have provided Ukraine with Polish fighter jets. You know, the U.S. has also repeatedly shot down this idea - rejected this idea of a no-fly zone, saying that would constitute a direct involvement in this war.

INSKEEP: Scott, one other thing to ask about - Russia and its ally China have been talking about Ukrainians using chemical or biological weapons. The White House has immediately said, whoa, whoa, whoa. That sounds like preparation for a false flag attack. But is the U.S. specifically saying this is an attack that Russia is preparing?

DETROW: Biden was asked about this today. He said he would not get into the intelligence that mirrors what you've heard from other White House officials who just do not want to provide any details about what they're hearing, what specifically they're hearing. Biden did make a point to say that Russia would pay a severe price if this happens. But, again, no further context for why U.S. officials are suddenly voicing concerns about this.

INSKEEP: Or what the U.S. red line might be in that area.

DETROW: Right.

INSKEEP: Scott, thanks very much.

DETROW: Sure thing.

INSKEEP: NPR's Scott Detrow.

1 revoke   

v.废除，取消，撤回

参考例句：

• The university may revoke my diploma.大学可能吊销我的毕业证书。
• The government revoked her husband's license to operate migrant labor crews.政府撤销了她丈夫管理外来打工人群的许可证。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

4 revoking   

v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There are no provisions for revoking the prize. 没有撤销获奖的规定。 来自互联网
• The decision revoking the patent right shall be registered and announced by the Patent Office. 撤销专利权的决定，由专利局登记和公告。 来自互联网

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

7 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

8 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

9 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

10 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。

11 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

12 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。