美国欧盟寻求达成自由贸易协定
更新时间:2013-2-21 12:06:38 来源:本站原创 作者:佚名
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The United States and the European Union are likely to begin negotiations as early as June on what some are calling a "ground breaking" free trade agreement. International trade experts say such an agreement would have substantial economic benefits on both sides of the Atlantic. But the obstacles are many and success is far from guaranteed.
最早在今年六月,美国和欧洲可能将开启被称为“具有开拓性意义的自由贸易协定”的谈判,国际贸易专家称,这一协定可能会为大西洋两岸带来大量的经济利益。但是由于阻碍重重,协议的成功还远不能保证。
President Barack Obama raised the prospects of a Transatlantic free trade zone at his annual State of the Union address.
在今年的国情咨文讲话中,奥巴马总统提出了跨大西洋自由贸易区的前景。
"Because trade that is free and fair across the Atlantic supports millions of good paying Americans jobs," Obama said.
他说:“跨越大西洋的自由和公平的贸易能为美国提供上百万份的高薪就业机会。”
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso was quick to endorse the proposal, saying a comprehensive trade deal with the U.S. would boost Europe's flagging economy.
欧盟委员会主席若泽•曼努埃尔•巴罗佐很快就对这一提议表示支持,他认为,一个全面的欧美贸易协议能够强有力地促进欧洲疲软的经济。
"It is estimated that when this agreement is up and running, the European economy will get a stimulus of a half percent of our GDP, which translates into tens of billions of euros every year and tens of thousands of new jobs," Manual Barroso said.
他说:“据估计,如果这项协议达成并实施,欧洲GDP会提高0.5个百分点,这将每年带来数百亿欧元的收入和几十万的新工作。”
In short -- a win-win for developed western nations.
新的贸易协定对西方国家来说是一个双赢的机会。
But Sharan Burrow at the International Trade Union Confederation warns an agreement based purely on economic gain will hurt workers in the U.S. and Europe.
但是,国际工会联盟的夏朗•巴罗警告说,一个仅仅基于经济利益的贸易协定将损害美国和欧洲工人的利益。
"Now -- if it's collaborative, if it's built on a value set that says we want to share the wealth so tools like collective bargaining are absolutely at the core, so we get the distributional effects // it could be very interesting," Burrow said.
他说:“既然这份协议是建立在我们想要协作而共享财富的价值观上,那么集体谈判就必须是一种核心方式,这样就会有分配效应。这很有意思。”
The concern is that eliminating barriers to trade and investments will undermine collective bargaining agreements and shift production to areas where labor is cheapest.
有人担忧,减少贸易和投资壁垒会损害集体谈判达成的协议,并使生产转移到劳动力最廉价的地区。
But trade expert Daniel Ikenson at the Cato Institute says that should not be an issue for the U.S.
但是卡托研究所的贸易问题专家丹尼尔•伊肯森认为,这对美国来说并不是问题。
"In fact, Europe's labor standards are widely considered to be higher than ours so the U.S. labor movement would be less likely to oppose the agreement," Ikenson said.
他说:“事实上,人们普遍认为欧洲的劳工标准比我们高,所以美国的工人运动不太可能会反对这项协议。”
Instead, he says negotiations could focus on harmonizing technical and regulatory standards.
他认为谈判应侧重于统一技术和管理标准:
"If you produce something in the United States for example -- a washing machine -- the electrical cord needs to be three feet and in the European Union, it needs to be one meter, which is three feet and three inches," Ikenson said.
“如果你在美国生产某样东西,比如一台洗衣机,电源线是3英尺长,但在欧盟它得是1米,也就是3.3英尺。”
Given that trade tariffs are already low between the U.S. and Europe, major hurdles are likely to revolve around subsidies -- the financial aid governments give such groups as farm producers and aircraft manufacturers to stay competitive.
考虑到美欧的贸易关税已经很低,现在的主要障碍很可能围绕着贸易补贴,也就是政府的农产品补贴和给飞机制造商的补助,以保证他们的竞争力。
But even if both sides are able to work out their differences, labor leader Sharan Burrow says more trade is not the cure for a weak global economy.
即便双方都能消除这些差异,工会领袖夏朗•巴罗依然认为加强贸易并非治愈全球经济衰退的良药。
"This economy is never going to get back on track in the global context unless we can do something about stopping the attack on worker's rights -- giving the world a pay raise so people can build a capacity to live on what they earn and stabilize demand," Burrow said.
他说:“除非我们能采取行动来制止对工人权利的侵犯,提高全球工人的工资,使人们有能力靠薪水养活自己,并稳定社会需求,否则世界经济不可能重回正轨。”
Trade between the U.S. and Europe accounts for nearly half of the world's economic output. Analysts say greater trade would further cement the partnership and help counterbalance China's growing clout.
美欧贸易几乎占到世界经济产出的一半。分析人士认为,扩大贸易可以进一步巩固他们的伙伴关系,以抗衡中国逐渐增长的影响力。