商務英語商務英語

關於貿易的經典商業英語詞彙

本文已影響 2.62W人 

我們在學習英語的過程中會很困難,但是英語對我們無論是工作還是生活還是很有用的,小編今天就給大家帶來了商務英語,歡迎大家閱讀

ing-bottom: 100%;">關於貿易的經典商業英語詞彙

典商業英語詞彙:其他

automation

自動化

After more than two decades of healthy annual advances,American nonfarm productivity growth declined and sometimes reversed after 1973.

在超過20年健康的年增長率之後,美國的非農業生產力自1973年後下滑,但偶有反彈。

Last year it grew nearly 3%,much of it due to blood-curdling corporate restructuring that was marked by increased automation,layoffs and lower wages.

去年增長几乎達3%,但主要是因爲企業採取更高度自動化、裁員、減薪等令人膽寒的整頓措施。

Customers balked,Wang abandoned the office-equipment business and filed fr bankruptcy last year.

顧客遲疑不前,王安放棄辦公設備部門,而在去年申請破產。

BM also tried and failed,

BM嘗試過也失敗,

as did oil giant Exxon,which ended up selling off its office-automation division in 1984 after investing more that $2 billion in it.

而石油巨人Exxon在投資超過20億美元的情況下,仍在1984年賣掉了它的辦公室自動化部門。

basket case

無用之物,無望之土

Africa has become the basket case of the planet,

非洲已成了地球上最沒有希望的土地,

he "Third World of the Third World,"a vast continent in free fall.

是“第三世界中的第三世界”,一個跌入深淵的遼闊大陸。

Sometimes called the world's richest basket case

緬甸有時被稱爲全世界最富有的無望之土,

because of its wealth of such natural resources as teak and minerals.

因爲它蘊含豐富的自然資源如柚木與礦產。

Burma needs foreign aid and investment to modernize.

緬甸需要國際的援助與投資以期現代化。

cellular phone

移動電話

With AT&T,Craig McCaw moves one step closer to realizing his biggest dream:

有了AT&T的支援,Craig McCaw離他的大夢又更近了一步:

building the first nation-wide cellular telephone network.

建立第一套全國性的移動電話網絡。

Since the storm had knocked out telephone lines.

因爲暴風吹垮了電話系統,

Allstate rushed to set up its own communication system,

Allstate趕忙自行建立通訊系統,

consisting of 80 shortwave radio units,850 pagers,173 cellular phones and a toll-free number.

包括80臺短波收音機、850個、173個移動電話以及一根免費電話線。

By staking a position in the cellular phone market,MCI takes its battle against AT&T to new heights.

MCI在移動電話市場取得一席之地,將它與AT&T的戰爭拉到新高點。

Channel Tunnel

英吉利海峽海底隧道

Last week,when the news of the Chunnel breakthrough was announced,

上週當海峽隧道貫通消息公佈時,

the Sun,Britain's leading tabloid,cautioned its readers.

英國小報領袖《太陽報》警告讀者:

"It won't be long before the garlic-breathed bastilles will be here in droves once the Channel Tunnel is open."

“一旦海峽隧道貫通,不久以後,滿嘴大蒜味的巴士底人就會大批涌來。”

Deep in the British psyche there is a reservation about ending the island-nation status.

在英國人內心深處,對結束島國式的生活還是有所保留。

Chapter 11 bankruptcy

破產

Just a week earlier the airline had veered away from a return trip to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection,from which it had emerged four years ago.

就在上週航空公司纔剛剛避過再度落入破產保護的命運。四年前大陸航空纔剛結束上一次的破產保護期。

Ames Department Stores(fiscal 1989 sales;$ 3.4 billion)declared bankruptcy under Chapter 11

Ames百貨公司(1989會計年度營業額;34億美元)宣告破產,

as the result of lingering complications from its 1988 acquistion of the Zayre chain.

因爲它在1988年收購Zayre連鎖店後的問題一直無法解決。

derivatives

衍生性金融商品

Procter $ Gamble announced that it was taking a $102 million after-tax charge on its third-quarter earnings

寶潔公司宣佈要自第三季的利潤中扣除已稅的1.02億美元,

|||

because it was "badly burned" by two derivatives contracts.

因爲該公司被兩宗衍生性金融商品的契約害慘了。

Derivatives-abstractions of stocks,bonds and futures-are a huge business($4.5 trillion in contraxts),

把股票、債券和期貨抽象化的衍生性金融商品,是筆大生意(契約價值高達4.5兆美元),

but pose a danger to world financial markets because of lack of regulation.

但是因爲缺乏管制,對世界的金融市場造成危機。

As such,they are often called the junk bonds of the '90s.

因爲它們經常被稱作90年代的垃圾債券。

embezzlement

盜用公款

They had charged that Papandreou ordered state companies to deposit funds in the private bank at a time when its owner was suspected of embezzlement.

他們指揮帕潘德里歐在一傢俬人銀行的所有人處在盜用公款的嫌疑之時,仍執意命令國營企業將錢存入此銀行。

Papandreou was also accused of taking bribes from the bank owner.

帕潘德里歐同時被控自銀行所有人處收取賄賂。

futures

期貨

Among other things,the Finance Ministry gave investors easier access to borrowed money and curbed the hours of futures trading.

許多措施中,包括大藏省讓投資者更暢通的貸款渠道,並且縮短了期貨的交易時間。

industrial park

工業園區

"He was proud of his was very much in love with himself."

“他對自己的專家手法很自豪,很欣賞自己。”

Last year the feds and local police busted Wills' six-man,14,000-sq.-ft."chop shop" set in an industrial park in Bensalem,Pennsylvania.

去年調查局和當地警察在賓州Bensalem附近一個工業園區內破獲了Wills和五個同夥的“解體工廠”,面積達1.4萬平方英尺。

The first bombs accomplished little,

第一次轟炸成果不大,

so U.S. warships on Sunday fired Tomahawk cruise missiles at an Iraqi industrial park near Baghdad

於是美國戰艦在週日對巴格達城附近的一個工業園區發動戰斧巡航導彈攻擊。

that Washington said housed a nuclear facility.

華盛頓方面宣稱此處藏有核武器製造設施。

liquidity

流動性、變現性

In 1990 News faced a liquidity crisis caused by the recession,a huge drop in advertising revenues,

1990年,News Corp。面臨資產變現性危機,因爲經濟不景氣,廣告費收大降,

and Murdoch's reliance on short-term loans at a time when interest rates were rising rapidly.

而利率急速上升,危及默多克對短期融資的倚賴。

P.R.

公關

It might also avoid the kind of public relations debacle Detroit's fat cats endured last week.

也可以避免像底特律那些腦滿腸肥的主管一樣,在上週忍受完全失敗的公關所帶來的苦果。

premium

保險費

And though all are supposed to hold down the zooming increase in medical costs,

雖然每種方法的目的都是爲了降低醫療成本,

the competing plans would rely on market mechanisms while Clinton would try tight,mandatory limits on increases in insurance premiums.

但是其他人的計劃都得依靠市場機能,只有克林頓想用緊密、強制性的限制來抑制保險費的上升。

Options include a short-term freeze on prices charged by doctors,hospitals,laboratories and nursing homes,and a cap on insurance premium increases.

政府的選擇包括短期凍結醫師、醫院、實驗室與私人療養院的收費,並且對保險費上漲設定上限。

Rupert Murdoch

默多克:媒體大亨

Delphi,which was purchased by Rupert Murdoch's News September,

Delphi在9月被默多克的News Corp.買下。

began providing its customers full Internet access last summer.

Delphi在今年夏天起即已提供客戶全盤的國際互聯網服務。

Silicon Valley

硅谷

In all,thieves last year ripped off up to $40 million worth of chips from California's Silicon Valley,according to the FBI.

聯邦調查局透露:整體而言,加州的硅谷在去年一年被偷走了價值近4000萬美元的電腦芯片。

When Apple Computer co-founder Steven Jobs burned out 10 years ago,the Silicon Valley company brought in marketing maven John Sculley.

|||

蘋果電腦的共同創辦人Steven Jobs 10年前精疲力竭地離開公司,這家硅谷公司找來營銷專家John Sculley。

Now it is Sculley who has apparently flamed out.

現在換成Sculley明顯要掛免戰牌了。

He has stepped down as CEO,but will stay on as chairman to focus on new business opportunities.

他已辭去了總裁的職位,但仍保持董事長的身份,並將專注在尋找新商機上。

technology transfer

技術轉讓

Republican fund raisers such as Floyd Brown see a bait-and-switch tactic

共和黨募款人如Floyd Brown等人想到“放長線釣大魚”的計謀。

that they hope to capitalize on by portaying her as massively influencing everything from the appointment of the deputy assistant undersecretary for technology transfer to a decision on whether the U.S. should bomb Serbian artillery lines.

他們想把她描寫成無事不管的第一夫人,從管技術轉讓的副助理次長的任命到美國是否應該轟炸塞爾維亞的炮兵陣地。

The U.S. joined the other 16 members of the Coordiating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls,

美國與其他16個“出口管制協調委員會”的成員達成了共識。

which monitors the transfer of technology to communist countries,

本來委員會是監控對共產國家的科技轉讓,

in approving the sale of sophisticated machine tools,telecommunications equipment and computers to those nations if they put in place safeguards to protect the Western technology.

但大家現在均同意出售精密的工具機、通訊設備和電腦給這些國家,條件是它們承諾立法保護西方科技。

vertical integration

縱向一體化

"The ms that our keiretsu-ka of banks and other financial institutions is outrageous.

“美國人說我們在銀行與其他金融機構的縱向一體化是無法無天。

I don't 's an idiosyncrasy of the Japanese economy."

我不同意。這是日本經濟的特色。”

The strategy is vertical integration,a coordinated system to offer patients whatever they need,

策略是縱向一體化,利用上下協調的體制,讓患者得到任何需要的項目,

from X rays to transplants,in the setting that makes the most sense.

在同一地點即可提供應具備的服務,例如從照X光片到器官移植。

The Devil's in the Derivatives

衍生性金融商品的鬼魂

Marcia Stasch got caught.

連Marcia Stasch也上了當。

She had sold securities for a living and so,naturally,she read the prospectus and the brochures from the local brokerage of Piper Jaffray that came on heavy-card stock paper.

靠賣證券吃飯的她,很自然地看到了當地經紀行Piper Jaffray以印股票用的厚卡紙印製的計劃書與簡介手冊。

They offered a government bond fund that seemed the perfect place to invest the $50,000 Stasch's 86-year-old widowed mother had made after selling her home in Minneapolis,Minnesota.

他們提供一種公債基金。Stasch86歲的寡母賣掉明尼蘇達州明尼阿波利斯市的房子,得款5萬元,似乎拿來投資這基金非常恰當。

Not only did Piper tout the triple-A-rated fund as a low-risk investment,but also said it would produce enough income-$318 a month-to pay her mother's rent.

Piper不但自誇這個AAA級的基金風險極低,同時說每個月318美元的收入足夠她母親付房租。

"I told Mom,‘This is your decision,but I'm comfortable with it,’"Stasch recalls.

Stasch回憶說:“我跟媽說,‘這是你的決定,但是我覺得不錯’”。

the first dividend check arrived for her mother is February,however,the investment was already worth several thousand dollars less.

但當2月第一張股利支票寄來時,她母親發覺這筆投資金額已經少了幾千元。

It shrunk even further in March.

到了3月,少得更多。

But it was not until the Mother's Day weekend in May that Stasch learned from a newspaper article what her mother had really bought:

但一直到5月母親節那個週末,Stasch才從報紙上得知她母親到底買了什麼東西:

far from being a safe investment,the fund was loaded with volatile securities called derivatives

這個基金絕不是安全的投資,卻充斥着叫作衍生性金融商品,充滿變數的證券。

|||

that had gone into a free-fall when interest rates shot up.

在利率竄升後,此種商品的價值就像自由落體般往下墜落。

"I told my family not to panic,but I was thinking,‘My God,what did I get into?’"Stasch says.

Stasch說:“我叫家人別慌,但自己卻在想:‘老天!我到底碰上了什麼?’”

Fearing that her mother would lose all her money,Stasch dumped the fund-at $14,000 loss.

在害怕母親輸光積蓄的情況下,Stasch認賠殺出,虧損1.4萬美元。

"I'd never heard of derivatives,"she says "I cried and she cried."

“我從來也沒有聽說過衍生性金融商品。我和媽都哭了。”

recent months a humiliating lesson has come to households,boardrooms and town halls across the country:

過去幾個月來,全國各地的家庭,公司董事長和市政廳都分享同樣羞辱的教訓:

derivatives can turn around and bite even those who think they know something about prudent investing.

衍生性金融商品會回過頭來,反咬一口那些自認爲對謹慎投資很瞭解的人。

And this drubbing from derivatives is sure to continue."The gunslingers may be lying low,but they haven't hung up their guns,"declares Representative Ed Markey of Massachusetts.

得自衍生性金融商品的痛苦經驗還沒有結束的跡象,馬薩諸塞州衆議員Ed Markey說:“這些殺手也許目前蟄伏一時,但是他們還沒有高掛槍枝,洗手不幹。”

As chairman of a House subcommittee that oversees financial institutions,Markey has put forward a bill that would increase federal supervision of the largely unregulated derivatives dealers.

身爲衆議院監督金融機構小組委員會的主席,Markey已經提出法案,要求聯邦政府加強對幾乎不受管束的衍生性金融商品交易商的監督。

James Midanek,a financial expert whose firm Solon Asset Management helps victims of derivatives to minimize their losses,also sees more trouble ahead.

Solon Asset Management公司幫助受害者縮小損失,該公司的財務專家James Midanek預測會有更多問題出現。

"It's going to hit home a little more,"he says.

他說:“更多打擊將接踵而至。

"We are going to hear more from local municipalities and colleges,and other less sophisticated investors who remain unaware of their exposure."

地方政府、學院和其他對自己身處險地而不知的單純投資人,會繼續傳出壞消息。”

is the astonishing range of investors who find themselves in that category:

以下是發現自己身處洪流的投資人一些例子,範圍驚人:

-Huge companies have taken big beatings.

——大企業輸大錢。

Procter & Gamble lost $157 million playing the derivatives market this year

寶潔公司今年輸了1.57億美元,

and ousted its corporate treasurer.

並開除了它的財務長。

British pharmaceutical giant Glaxo Holdings lost $115 million.

英國製藥巨人葛蘭素輸掉1.15億美元。

Gibson Greetings in Cincinnati,Ohio,lost more than $20 million

俄亥俄州辛辛那提市的Gibson卡片公司輸掉超過2000萬美元,

and last month sued Bankers Trust,which had sold the derivatives to the card company.

並在上個月控告賣商品給它的Bankers Trust。

5.-Municipalities,colleges and even and Indian tribe suffered.

——地方市鎮當局、大學甚至一個印第安部落也都吃到苦頭。

Maple Grove,a Minneapolis suburb,

位於明尼阿波利斯市郊,人口有4萬的Maple Grove,

has seen its $5 million investment in the Piper Jaffray fund shrink to about $3.6 million this year.

今年投資在Piper Jaffray基金的500萬元已經縮水到剩360萬元左右。

"A number of people had had terrific experience with it,"says Jon Elam,the city administrator of Maple Grove.

Maple Grove的市Jon Elam說:“不少人曾在其中嚐到甜頭。

"It was unbelievable to me when I found out what the fund was made up of.

當我發現真相時,簡直無法相信這個基金的組合。

It was then that I realized it was basically a hedge fund,betting on the decline of interest rates.

那時我才瞭解它基本上是一個避險基金,賭利率會下降。

|||

That's the reason it did so marvelously in the early '90s."

這就是爲什麼它在90年代初能表現那麼好的原因。”

6.-In Texas the former vice president for finance of tiny Odessa College poured virtually all the school's funds into derivatives.

——在得克薩斯州一家迷你學院Odessa College的前任財務副總幾乎把全校的資金都投入購買衍生性金融商品。

The staff and faculty of the two-year college watched in horror as the $22 million in investments lost nearly half their value,

這所二年制專科學校的教職員驚恐地發現2200萬美元的投資幾乎損失一半,

forcing the public school to borrow $10.5 million in emergency funds,raise tuition and jack up local property taxes.

迫使這所公立學校借貸1050萬緊急貸款、提高學費與地方財產稅。

Meanwhile,the Shoshone Indians,a tribe of 3,000 in western Wyoming with a 70% rate of unemployment,

同時,西懷俄明州的Shoshone印第安人,3000人口中有70%失業,

purchased nearly $5 million of derivatives last year from a traveling financial salesman;

也在去年向一個四處旅行的推銷員買下將近500萬美元的衍生性金融商品,

the value of the purchases has since shriveled to about $3.5 million.

其價值現已跌落至350萬美元左右。

7.-Mutual funds have been a particularly fertile ground for unexpected casualties because investors often don't know the full content of the portfolios into which they are buying.

——在共同基金的領域中特別容易出現意外的“傷亡”,因爲投資人常常無從完全瞭解他們所購買的投資組合。

Funds run by such firms as Paine Webber,Kidder Peabody and Bank American

像Paine Webber,Kidder Peabody與Bank American這些機構所經營的基金,

have put up more than $500 million this year to bail out investments in derivatives.

在今年都撥超過5億美元的款項來救回在衍生性金融商品上的投資。

Just last week Arthur Levitt,chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission,told Congress

就在上週,證券與交易委員會主管Arthur Levitt才告訴國會說丹佛市的Community Asset Management Inc.

that an $83 million fund run by Community Asset Management Inc. of Denver had become the first money-market fund to shut down because of derivatives losses.

所經營的一個價值8300萬美元的基金,已成爲首宗因衍生性金融商品損失而倒閉的貨幣市場基金。

The fund's 113 customers,

該基金的113位投資人,

consisting of banks and other institutions,will collect 94 cents for every dollar they invested.

包括銀行與其他機構,只能拿回原投資額的94%。

8.-Even the Wall Street firms that concoct these securities have taken a whipping.

——即使連創造出這些商品的華爾街經紀行也吃了大虧。

Bankers Trust,which relies heavily on derivatives for its profits,

極倚賴衍生性金融商品利潤的Bankers Trust,

saw its earnings drop 28% to $181 million in the second quarter as clients stopped buying the risky instruments.

其第二季的收只有1.81億美元,跌落了28%,因爲顧客不再購買這種高風險投資工具。

The decline was particularly sharp in the division of the bank that uses computerized programs run by math whizzes-who are known as "quants"-to create the derviatives.

在這家銀行中,由所謂“數字專家”的數學高手操作電腦程序而製造出衍生商品的部門,尤其損失慘重。

Its earnings have fallen more than 50% since this year's first quarter.

它自今年第一季起收入下降50%以上。

vatives are causing all this havoc because they have swiftly become a linchpin of global commerce and the world's financial system.

正因爲衍生性金融商品已很快成爲全球商業與金融系統的交接點,它們才能造成如此嚴重的傷害。

Companies regularly use a form of derivatives called swaps to protect against the risk of sudden changes in exchange rates,commodities prices or other costs when they trade overseas or build plants abroad.

企業會固定利用一種叫“交換”的衍生性金融商品來避免匯率、商品價格及其他成本突然變動的風險,以安心從事海外貿易或在海外設廠。

|||

Like all derivatives,they function,essentially,as bets on the direction of particular markets.

“交換”與所有衍生性金融商品一樣,基本上是對某特定市場的走向來下賭大小,這樣的保障何其誘人,

So coveted is such insurance that the total face amount-or "notional value"-

以致於交換與類似契約的財麪價值,或“概念價值”,

of swaps and similar contracts has soared to an astronomical $11 trillion,up from $5.1 trillion since 1990.

已從1990年的5.1兆美元遽升至天文數字的11兆美元。

e derivatives can take on many forms,they all share certain similarities.

雖然衍生性金融商品有很多面貌,但仍有共通點。

No matter how complex a derivative may be,

無論這種商品有多複雜,

it is at bottom a security that takes-or derives-its value from underlying things that can range from the familiar(stocks or bonds or interest rates)to the exotic(gold in Ghana or copper in Mexico).

它仍是一種證券形式,而它的價值則來自基本的商品,範圍從熟悉(股票、債券或利率)的到充滿異國情調的(加納的黃金或墨西哥的銅)。

Moreover,those underlying things can be sliced and diced in all kinds of ways.

這些基本商品可以用各種花樣來分割,然後放在賭桌。

Among the most popular derivatives in mutual-fund portfolios are the so-called interest-only strips,

在基金組合中最受歡迎的一種叫做“利息附加”,

which pay interest that comes from pools of government-backed mortgages.

支付的是一組一組政府背書抵押品的利息。

These strips became hot when interest rates fell below the level they were paying.

當一般利率低於這商品付出的利息時,投資人趨之若鶩。

But is interest rates rose higher,these securities became less attractive and plunged in value.

但當利率上升後,這些證券就不再誘人,價值也跌入谷底。

  經典商業英語詞彙: 貿易

barter

易貨貿易

A rare stillness suffused Saturday morning in Sarajevo.

薩拉熱窩的週六早晨出奇的沉寂。

With the guns silent for a moment,parents gathered up their hungry children and headed for the market

炮聲未響,父母帶着飢腸轆轆的孩子到市場,

to barter for what meager supplies of food and clothing had made it through Serbian lines.

尋找穿越塞爾維亞防線的少數食品、衣物,以進行易物交易。

country of origin

原產國

Most Americans think of the Swatch as a trendy timepiece

大多數美國人認爲Swatch是製造流行的手錶,

that was embraced from K Mart Shoppers to the owners of SOHO galleries.

從K Mart的購物者到蘇活區藝廊的主持人都喜歡它。

But in its country of origin,Switzerland,the Swatch represents nothing less than an amazing instrument of industrial rejuvenation.

但是在它的原產國瑞士,Swatch所代表的不外是驚人的產業再生力量。

dumping

傾銷

The turning point for the conductor industry may have been in 1985,

美國半導體產業的轉折點是在1985年。

when American companies filed an antidumping petition against Japanese chipmakers.

美國公司發出一份控告日本芯片製造廠的反傾銷陳情書。

The Japanese were selling 256-kilobit memory chips at $2 each,for example,even though they cost an estimated $3 or more to produce.

例如日本在美國以每顆2美元的價格,銷售256K的內存芯片,但是製造成本卻大約是3元以上。

The report pointed out violations of fair trade by each area in 10 separate categories,

報告指出,在各個地區違反公平貿易的項目總共有10個,

such as quotas,anti-dumping measures and government procurement.

包括配額、反傾銷措施及政府採購等。

EPZ

出口加工區

Though provincial governments have been given more freedom,

雖然地方政府已經得到更多空間,

they haven't passed it on to entrepreneurs.

但它們並未將這自由空間轉移給企業家。

Foreign investors are welcome,but corruption devours profits.

外資受到歡迎,但貪污侵蝕了利潤。

Even longtime investors complain that the rules seem to keep shifting.

即使長期投資者也抱怨朝令夕改。

Ho Chi Minh City's Export Processing Zone Authority lured foreign companies on the basis of preferred taxfree status and then announced an 8% business tax.

胡志明市的出口加工區以優惠的免稅待遇來吸引外商,然後卻又宣佈8%的企業稅率。

government procurement

政府採購

Court papers describe a scheme in which California's Teledyne Industries paid Parkin and Lackner

法庭文件描寫一件陰謀:加州的Teledyne Industries付錢買通Parkin與Lackner二人,

to obtain confidential information about government procurement plans for a system to identify military aircraft.

以獲得有關政府採購能辯認識別軍機系統的機密資料。

When equipment has not been delivered,because of the glacial government procurement process.

當裝備因緩慢的政府採購程序而無法送達時,

Reno has personally borrowed gear from the Pentagon.

雷諾親自去向五角大樓借裝備。

gray market

灰色市場

Unlike rare jewels,chips have had the advantage of being untraceable,

電腦芯片不像稀有的珠寶。它的優點是無法追查原主,

so they can be quickly unloaded on gray and black markets.

所以很容易在灰色市場與黑市脫手。

ITC

國際貿易委員會

The rnational Trade Commission,the federal agency that deals with unfair trade complaints by American companies,

美國國際貿易委員會是專門處理美國企業對不公平貿易控拆的聯邦機構。

is handling a record number of cases(38 last year).

它現在正處理創歷史新高的案件數目(去年有38件)。

MFN

最惠國

Despite lapses into protectionism,the U.S. has generally been both a promoter and a beneficiary of free trade.

|||

雖然美國逐漸傾向保護主義,但大體說來它是自由貿易的推動者與受益者。

It grants 159 of the 170 countries on earth most-favored-nation status,or MFN,subjecting their products to roughly the same relatively low import duties.

在170國中,他給予其中的159國最惠國特遇,對它們的產品大致均課以比較低的進口關稅。

protectionism

保護主義

The latest version of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade will wholly or partly eliminate national tariffs,subsidies,quotas and other forms of protectionism for dozens of industries.

最近的關貿總協定版本,將要求將數十種產業的保護政策,例如關稅、補貼、配額及其他形式等,加以全部或部分消除。

The overriding U.S. national interest is an open world in which Amierca can thrive.

美國最主要的利益就是建立一個可以蓬勃發展的開放世界。

(That is why protectionism and the anti-NAFTA campaign,merely other forms of isolationism,are so dangerous.)

(因此保護主義與反“北美自由貿易協定”的行動是危險的,因爲它們只是孤立主義的另外一種形式罷了。)

Super 301

超級301

President Clinton revived a tough provision of e law in an attempt

克林頓總統重新祭出美國貿易法中強硬的一條條文,

to get Japan to trim its $59 billion trade surplus.

希望逼日本降低它對美的590億美元貿易出超。

The measure,the so-called Super 301,creates a "hit list" of countries deemed to be unfair traders

這個稱爲“超級301”的措施會列出一張被認定是不公平貿易國家的“黑名單”,

and threatens punitive tariffs up to 100%.

並且威脅使用可高達100%的懲罰性關稅。

Encouraged by frustrated U.S. trade groups and corporations,

在氣餒的美國貿易團體與企業的鼓勵下,

legislators had Japan in mind when they passed the provision-dubbed Super 301-as part of last year's trade bill.

國會議員在去年的貿易法案中通過了所謂的超級301條款,心中想的對象就是日本。

trade friction

貿易摩擦

The Administration wants to fight for the U.S. computerchip industry,

美國政府願意替美國的電腦芯片廠奮鬥,

but it does not want trade friction to topple Japan's fragile reform coalition government.

但它不想製造貿易摩擦,讓日本脆弱的改革派聯合政府垮臺。

TOYOTA calls that charge "groundless and meaningless."

豐田稱此項指控“毫無根據與意義”,

but spokesman Yoshihara Tateishi says,

但是發言人Yoshihara Tateishi說:

"We are fully aware of the trade friction,

“我們完全瞭解這種貿易摩擦,

and our approach will be modest and prudent."

而我們的處理方式將會是溫和且謹慎的。”

USTR

美國貿易代表署

Racing against a U.S.-imposed deadline,

爲了趕上美國所設的最後期限,

Japanese negotiators and U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor produced the first major market-opening agreement between the two countries since talks began in July 1993.

日本的談判代表和美國貿易代表坎特達成了自1993年7月開始談判以來,第一個主要的市場開放協議。

Take That!And That!

需索無度

posturing and tough talk were all it took to remedy the U.S.-Japan trade gap,

如果擺姿態和放話就能解決美日貿易逆差問題,

everything would be fine by now.

那麼現在什麼事都已經解決了。

The grumpy Fed.11 encounter in Washington between Bill Clinton and Japanese Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa has produced a surplus of bluster.

2月11日,美國總統克林頓與日本首相細川護熙不愉快的會面導致了更多的爭執。

"We will not modify our position," Hosokawa warned afterward.

細川事後警告道:“我們不會改變立場。”

"It's just not acceptable for the United States to continue on the same path,"Clinton warned back last week.

“我們不能接受美國繼續照目前的方向前進。”上週克林頓回敬了一頓警告。

But as both sides grumbled,they tried to keep the brinkmanship within bounds.

不過即使雙方都抱怨連連,它們仍試圖把齟齬限制在破裂邊緣。

|||

"The intent and fact are to be measured and calm about this,"insisted a White House official,even as others waved fists at Japan.

即使其他人都在向日本揮舞拳頭,白宮一名官員仍堅持:“對此事我們的意圖實際上是很有分寸而且冷靜的。”

cely had Hosokawa settled back in Tokyo than the White House struck.

細川在東京纔剛上任,美國就發起攻勢。

It announced that Japan had failed to comply with previous trade agreements

白宮宣佈日本並未遵守先前的貿易協定,

by denying Motorola fair access to Japan's cellular-phone market.

因爲它沒有給予美國Motorola公司公平的渠道進入日本的移動電話市場。

"This is a clear-cut and serious case of a failure by Japan to live up to its commitments,"said U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor.

美國貿易代表坎特說:“這是清楚而嚴重的證據,顯示日本沒有遵守諾言。”

He promised that within a month his office would publish a list of Japanese companies that would be punished-probably through tariffs-if the situation is not remedied.

他承諾假如此狀況未獲改善,貿易代表署將在一個月內開出黑名單,列入可能受到懲罰的日本企業。

One day later,Washington's case was bolstered

一天後,華府的立場更加堅定了,

by new Commerce Department figures showing that the trade deficit with Japan rose nearly 24% last year,

因爲商務部最新統計顯示去年美國對日本的貿易逆差擴大了24%,

to a record $59.3 billion.

到達空前的593億美元。

Japanese made their own threat to fight any sanctions

日本也發出威脅要對抗任何的制裁行動,

by accusing the U.S. of a "betrayal of trust" in multinational negotiations to reduce tariffs.

並指揮美國背棄在國際協商中降低關稅的主張與承諾。

But even as the Japanese were applauding Hosokawa's refusal to cave in to Clinton,

但是即令日本人爲細川拒絕對美國低頭的主張喝彩不已,

his government was calculating how to avoid a fight.

細川政府卻仍在算計如何避免一場戰爭。

Early in the week Tokyo was unnerved when the yen rose about 6% against the dollar while Washington stood by with arms folded.

本週稍早日元對美元升值6%,美國卻在一旁雙的抱胸冷眼旁觀,令日本害怕不已。

The upward pressure came from speculators counting on the U.S. to encourage a stronger yen to make American products cheaper in Japan.

升值的壓力來自市場投機客打賭美國會縱容日元升值,好讓在日銷售的美國貨變便宜。

Because that would also cut into the profits of beleaguered Japanese companies that sell abroad,

因爲升值會使已煩惱不堪的面向海外的日本企業利潤下滑,

a 5% drop in the Japanese stock market quickly followed.

所以日本股市也跌了5%。

o scrambled to propose conciliatory measures

東京方面趕忙提出講和的措施,

to promote imports,speed deregulation,break down monopolies and open up government purchasing to outsiders-

包括刺激進口、加速自由化、解散壟斷企業與外國開放政府採購——

a standard litany that Washington wasn't buying.

華盛頓並不吃這一套陳詞濫調。

And the Japanese gave no sign of willingness to compromise

日本在這方面卻並無妥協之跡象,

on the core U.S. demand that their progress in opening markets should be measured by "objective criteria"-in effect,guaranteeing that competitive products get a share of the market.

美國要求的重點是,市場開放的腳步應由“客觀標準”來判定,也就是保證讓美國競爭性產品在日本市場取得一席之地。

cellular-phone problem illustrates how even the most competitive American products-

移動電話的問題顯示出即使最具競爭力的美國產品

Motorola claims 40% of the global cellular market-can be tripped up in Japan.

在日本也會灰頭土臉。

In 1987,when it privatized the national phone company,

1987年,日本政府將國營的日本電信公司民營化,

Nippon Telegraph & Telephone,Japan's government divided the country into two cellular-phone regions,with NTT operating in both and one fully private competitor in each.

|||

並把全國分成兩個移動電話區域,NTT在兩區都可經營,而政府在每區各容許一家完全民營的競爭對手。

Though it has flourished elsewhere in Japan,

雖然Motorola在日本其他地區都生意興隆,

Motorola maintains that it has been handicapped in the Tokyo-Nagoya corridor,the more profitable of the two areas,

它卻堅持在東京一名古屋走廊地帶這個利潤較高的區域受到牽制,

where its phones are incompatible with the NTT transmitting system.

因爲它的傳輸系統與NTT不相容。

part of an agreement to give Motorola "comparable market access"-reached in 1989 after Washington threatened reprisals-

日本政府在華府威脅報復後,在1989年達成協議願給Motorola“同等的市場開放度”,

the Japanese government provided the company a slice of the cellular-phone bandwidth in the Tokyo-Nagoya region.

接着便在關東地區走廊區域分給Motorola一部分的頻寬。

There was a catch:Motorola's new transmitting equipment would have to be installed by IDO,the wholly private cellular operator in that area.

但是有個圈套:Motorola的新傳輸設備必須由該區原來的民營競爭者IDO公司來裝設。

Called upon to build facilities for a competitor,IDO dragged its feet.

IDO在被叫來幫對手建立設施的情況下,進度極爲緩慢。

In 1992,at Motorola's request,Washington sought and gained a follow-up agreement to speed construction.

1992年,在Motorola的要求下,華府再度與日本訂下後續協定,將加速這些建設。

summer Motorola again protested the slow pace,leading the White House back to bargaining with Japan.

去年夏天Motorola再度抗議牛步化的進度,白宮與日本再度走上談判桌。

The s guarantees that the new system will be up two years earlier than IDO's projected completion date in March 1997.

美國要求日本保證新系統必須比IDO原訂的1997年3月早兩年完工。

In the view of IDO president Takeo Tsukada,that would lead his still unprofitable company to "certain bankruptcy."

IDO總經理Takeo Tsukada的說法是如此一來這家尚未見到利潤的公司必然破產。

Motorola says anything less would keep it out of the cellular boom expected to start in April,

Motorola說若不這樣做,它就會被摒棄於自今年4月即將開始的移動電話熱潮,

when new regulations permit Japanese consumers to own phones instead of just renting o,meanwhile,insists that the remaining tangles are just a business dispute between private companies.

因爲新法規允許日本消費者不必再租用移動電話,而可自己擁有。

"Washington is asking us to guarantee Motorola's business,"complains a Japanese official.

一名日本官員抱怨說:“華府在要求我們保證Motorola的生意。”

ular phones are just one of 31 areas covered by trade agreements at the U.S. could use as gauges of Japanese intransigence and then retaliate.

美國與日本有31項產品的市場開放協定,移動電話只是其中一項,美國可據此衡量日本不妥協的程度,再考慮報復措施。

"It's not our desire to be provocative,"says a White House official.

一名白宮官員說:“我們並不想惹是生非,

"But the status quo cannot continue."

但是這種現狀不能繼續下去。”

Neither can the present standoff,without the danger of a more serious confrontation that nobody wants.

目前的對峙也不能持續,否則將造成無人樂見的危險對抗。

Now,does anybody here know how to just dabble in a trade war?

現在有誰知道如何在貿易戰爭上淺嘗即止嗎?

猜你喜歡

熱點閱讀

最新文章