VOA标准英语2013--布鲁金斯研究美非贸易改革的重大利益

 

Brookings Study Weighs Benefits of US - Africa Trade Reforms 布鲁金斯研究美非贸易改革的重大利益

WASHINGTON, DC — Can the United States take a trade law that’s helping¹ to increase African exports, and make it better?  That’s what African and American politicians, economists² and policy makers³ are discussing as they consider the future of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA. 

The legislation, which expires in two years, drops duties and tariffs⁴ on thousands of products from the continent. Supporters say it’s generated hundreds of billions of dollars in trade and investment opportunities.                                                                 

Most African development specialists and policy makers would like to see AGOA extended, at least for another ten years. Some would like to add other low income countries outside Africa or include a wider range of products. 

A new study by the Washington-based Brookings Institution looks at how changes to the law might affect US trade with Africa.

According to the report,  failing to extend AGOA would be among the worst options.

华盛顿特区——美国可以采取贸易法律来帮助提高非洲出口使它更好吗?这就是非洲和美国的政治家、经济学家和政策制定者正在讨论的他们考虑未来的《非洲增长与机遇法案》,或者《非洲增长与机会法》。

Curtailing⁵ wealth creation   

The Brookings study says it would lead to a two percent drop in Africa exports to the United States, or about one billion dollars. 

African sectors⁶ affected⁷ by the end of AGOA -- and the return of tariffs -- would include meat and dairy, leather, textiles and manufactured goods.  Limited gains made in economic diversification⁸ would disappear in many AGOA-eligible countries, as would associated employment gains.  The act has been credited with creating over 300,000 jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Many of those would be put at risk. 

Wages for unskilled agriculture labor⁹ would be harmed particularly in South Africa and members of the Southern African Customs Union, Nigeria, and East Africa.   Pay for skilled laborers¹⁰ in the textile and apparel industry would drop in Mauritius and Malawi. 

The advantages of extension

On the other hand,  renewing AGOA would continue to improve African trade and revenues. Dropping all US quotas¹¹ and duties on goods on AGOA-eligible countries would provide Africa with even greater gains.

Mwangi S. Kimenyi, a senior fellow and director of the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution in Washington,DC.,  says Africa would benefit from increased trade with the US. 

"There’d be a big change in total value of trade between US and Africa….and because Africa is a small  global market player,  the cost to the US for allowing these  products to come into the US are extremely small,  with no major [effects] on the US economy…”

In fact, he says opening the US market to these sectors would cost the US less than $10 million dollars per year, but increase African exports by $72 million dollars.

In another proposed trade reform, some want to drop the 14 middle-income countries that are part of AGOA today.  The Brookings study shows that under this plan, several countries would see large drops in exports to the US. 

Nigeria would lose $500 million per year from mining and energy, agriculture and food.  Mauritius would lose about $95 million dollars, with a majority from textiles.  South Africa alone would lose nearly $260 million dollars in exports (including meat and milk products), while the rest of the Southern African Customs Union would lose about $110 million.

Out of Africa

US lawmakers are also considering an extension of AGOA-like preferences beyond Africa to other lesser¹² developed regions of the world .

The report finds that doing so could harm African countries already enjoying AGOA-provided access to US markets. 

"What about if you give the same [duty and quota-free] preferences to low income developing countries …. like Bangladesh and Cambodia," he asks. "Particularly in the area of textiles..  we find that African economies would not be able to sell much to the US..In fact, there would be big losses to African countries."

Economic Partnership¹³ Agreements 

The study also considers the effect of other trade pacts¹⁴, including Economic Partnership Agreements, or EPA’s, between the European Union and the developing world. 

They would create a free trade area with reciprocal preferential trade agreements between the EU and countries that would belong to five EPA-created regions:  West Africa, Central Africa, East and Southern Africa, the Southern African Development Community and the East Africa Community.

Kimenyi says the report is not in favor of the agreements.

"Our model shows that….a lot of Africans would lose from EPA’s and if the US followed the same [idea], using EPA’s….it would be bad for Africa," he said..

The report says EPA’s encourage commerce within designated regions,  but not between African countries belonging to different regional blocs¹⁵.  For example, some countries bordering each other, like Mozambique and Malawi, would belong to different EPA groupings, and would each maintain high tariffs on each other.

Free trade areas

But the report does cite another tool for boosting African exports: free trade areas, or FTA’s.

For example, it found that an FTA between the US and EU would increase world trade by up to $124 billion dollars.  It says Africa could benefit from such a deal if it implements¹⁶ regional trade agreements, preferably a continent-wide free trade area, or CFTA. 

The report says $36 billion dollars per year in new trade would be created by dropping all quotas and tariffs between and among all countries on continent. 

The resulting increase in exports could work to help offset¹⁷ the large loss of revenues from dropping duties and tariffs.

The question now, say Africa watchers, is if there’s political will to enact¹⁸ the economic reforms. 

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 curtailing   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They will be curtailing the discussions at two thirty. 他们将把讨论缩短至两点半。 来自互联网
• Individually, banks are acting rationally by retaining their capital and curtailing lending. 此外，银行们正在合理地保留其资本和减少贷款。 来自互联网

6 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》

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 diversification   

n.变化，多样化；多种经营

参考例句：

• The seminar was to discuss diversification of agriculture. 该研讨会讨论的是农业多种经营。 来自辞典例句
• Firm diversification is increasingly achieved by the means of takeover and merger. 通过接管和兼并，厂商经营范围日益多样化。 来自辞典例句

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

10 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

11 quotas   

（正式限定的）定量( quota的名词复数 )； 定额； 指标； 摊派

参考例句：

• In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
• Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。

12 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

13 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

14 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。

15 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

16 implements   

n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• Primitive man hunted wild animals with crude stone implements. 原始社会的人用粗糙的石器猎取野兽。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They ordered quantities of farm implements. 他们订购了大量农具。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

17 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

18 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。