Lesson 8

Trading standards

贸易标准

What makes trading between rich countries difficult?

Chickens slaughtered in the United States, claim officials in Brussels, arenot fit to grace European tables. No, say the Americans: our fowl are fine, wesimply clean them in a different way. These days, it is differences in nationalregulations, far more than tariffs, that put sand in the wheels of trade betweenrich countries. It is not just farmers who are complaining. An electric razorthat meets the European Union's safety standards must be approved by Americantesters before it can be sold in the United States, and an American-madedialysis machine needs the EU's okay before it hits the market in Europe.

As it happens, a razor that is safe in Europe is unlikely to electrocuteAmericans. So, ask businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, why have two lotsof tests where one would do? Politicians agree, in principle, so America and theEU have been trying to reach a deal which would eliminate the need todouble-test many products. They hope to finish in time for a trade summitbetween America and the EU on May 28th. Although negotiators are optimistic, thedetails are complex enough that they may be hard-pressed to get a deal at all.Why? One difficulty is to construct the agreements. The Americans would happilyreach one accord on standards for medical devices and then hammer out differentpacts covering, say, electronic goods and drug manufacturing. The EU --following fine continental traditions -- wants agreement on general principles,which could be applied to many types of products and perhaps extended to othercountries.

From: The Economist, May 24th, 1997

New words and expressions 生词与短语

slaughter

v. 屠宰

fit

adj. 适合

grace

v. 给...增光

tariff

n. 关税

standard

n. 标准

dialysis

n. 分离，分解;透析，渗析

electrocute

v. 使触电身亡

eliminate

v. 消灭

accord

n. 协议

device

n. 仪器，器械

hammer out

v. 推敲

pact

n. 合同，条约，公约

本文参考译文新概念英语第三册下载

布鲁塞尔的官员说，在美国屠宰的鸡不适于用来装点欧洲的餐桌。不，美国人说，我们的家禽很好，只是我们使用了另一种清洗方式。当前，是各国管理条例上的差异，而不是关税阻碍了发达国家之间的贸易。并不仅仅是农民在抱怨。一把符合欧洲联盟安全标准的电动剃须刀必须得到美国检测人员的认可，方可在美国市场上销售;而美国制造的透析仪也要得到欧盟的首肯才能进入欧洲市场。碰巧在欧洲使用安全的剃须刀不大可能使美国人触电身亡，因此，大西洋两岸的企业都在问，当一套测试可以解决问题时，为什么需要两套呢?政治家在原则上同意了，因此，美国和欧洲一直在寻求达成协议，以便为许多产品取消双重检查。他们希望尽早达成协议，为5月28日举行的美国和欧洲贸易的最高通级会议作准备。然谈判代表持乐观态度，但协议细节如此复杂，他们所面临的困难很可能使他们无法取得一致。

为什么呢?困难之一是起草这些协议。美国人很愿意就医疗器械的标准达成一个协议，然后推敲出不同的合同，用以涵盖 -- 比如说 --电子产品和药品的生产。欧洲人遵循优良的大陆传统，则希望就普遍的原则取得一致，而这些原则适用于许多不同产品，同时可能延伸到其它国家。