【经济学人】为什么连双赢贸易协议都变得举步维艰丨2017年2月4日丨总第818期

IN THE wee hours of December 7th 2013, after weeks of haggling, exhausted trade representatives stood to applaud. Agreement had been reached on the first trade deal in the history of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). No longer could it be accused of being a talking shop, crimped by consensus. “For the first time in our history, the WTO has truly delivered,” said Roberto Azevêdo, the body’s chief. The deal is tantalisingly close to coming into force, needing just two more national ratifications. Chad, Jordan, Kuwait and Rwanda are competing to take it over the line.

2013年12月7日凌晨，在持续几周的讨价还价之后，筋疲力尽的贸易代表们全体起立，鼓掌庆祝。在世界贸易组织（WTO）历史上的第一项贸易协定已达成一致。这项协议再也不会受制于各执己见无法统一而被视为空谈。机构主席罗伯特·阿泽维多说：“世贸组织真正诞生了，这是我们有史以来的第一次”。但是协议差一点点便可以生效，仅仅再需要两个国家的批准。而乍得、约旦、科威特与卢旺达正在激烈争夺。

• over the line 过分，过界
  

• wee：adj.   很小的，极小的; 很早的;n.  一点点; 一会儿;

• haggle：n.  讨价还价; 争论;vt.   乱劈; 乱砍; 使疲惫;vi.   讨价还价; 争论不休;

• talking shop：n.      （只说不做的）清谈会；清谈委员会;

• consensus:一致；合意；舆论

• tantalisingly 诱人地

• come into force 生效

• ratification 批准

In theory, the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) is a beacon of hope on the trade landscape. It was unanimously agreed to by rich and poor countries. If fully implemented, it could have an even bigger impact than slashing all tariffs. It is an example of a win-win deal, in which peer pressure pokes governments into making life easier and more prosperous.

理论上说，贸易便利化协议就像贸易世界的灯塔。这项协议得到了富裕国家和落后国家的一致同意。如果协议得到完全实施，那么它带来的影响甚至比大幅度削减所有关税的影响还要大。这是双赢协定的典型，在所有成员的压力下，各国政府着手使生活更加便利、更加殷实。

• Unanimously：全体一致的
  

• Beacon 灯塔，信号塔

The agreement shies away from slashing subsidies or toppling tariffs, and instead hacks at the thicket of regulatory trade barriers. The red tape is stickiest in poorer countries; in sub-Saharan Africa exporters must endure nearly 200 hours of inspections, regulations and paperwork. Richer countries face only 15 (see chart).

这项协定没有去大幅削减补助，或者降低关税，反而大肆修改监管贸易壁垒的尺度。贫困国家的过关手续是最繁琐的；在非洲撒哈拉沙漠以南地区，出口商需要忍受近乎200个小时的检查、监管以及通关文书等手续。不过，发达国家只需要15个小时。（见表）

• Topple推倒
  

• Shy away from ：回避

• Tariff: 关税

• Red tape:繁文缛节

The TFA is supposed to surmount these hurdles by, for example, setting standards, streamlining processes and squeezing fees. This would cut trade costs by as much as 15% in poorer countries. It also enforces greater transparency. Export-led growth is tricky if people do not know how to export. A study by Evdokia Moïsé and Silvia Sorescu of the OECD found that better information could cut trade costs by 1.7% in low-income countries.

贸易便利化协定将克服这些阻碍，比如说，通过设定新的标准，流水线般的通关手续同时降低费用。该协议将帮助贫困国家削减多达15%的贸易花销，同时也会有助于提高透明度。如果商人不知道如何进行出口，那么以出口导向为增长（的贸易）会很困难。来自经济合作与发展组织（OECD）的Evdokia Moïsé和Silvia Sorescu发现，在低收入国家，更为有效的信息途经会减少1.7%的贸易花销。

• Hurdles 障碍
  

• Surmount：vt.   战胜，克服; 登上，攀登; 居于…之上; 顶上覆盖着;

Step back a bit, however, and the TFA looks rather bedraggled. It rose out of the ashes of the Doha round, the last big attempt at a global trade deal, as the least controversial item. Grand trade deals, never very high on governments’ agendas, have in recent decades aimed more at locking in existing practice than at winning important new concessions.（读者试译句）The TFA reflects curtailed ambition, after plans for agreements in areas such as intellectual property and trade in services were abandoned,

然而，稍微退一步来看，贸易便利化协定看上去破旧不堪。它更像是多哈谈判的死灰，多哈谈判曾是之前对全球贸易协定的巨大尝试，也是拥有最小争议的条款。“期待您的翻译，将您的理解留言在文章下方留言处，第二天将会有长难句解析哟~。”在诸如知识产权以及贸易服务领域的计划协议被中止后，贸易便利化协定映射出了被削减后的目标。

• Curtailed 缩减了的
  

• Bedraggled不整洁

Its cuddly inclusivity comes at a cost. Poorer countries have flexibility over which standards they will put in place immediately, which they need time for—and which they need money for. Some bits of the agreement are exhortations rather than rules. Implementation may be slow. A study published in December 2016 noted that even when regional trade agreements include trade-facilitation provisions, they are not always put into effect. A committee will oversee implementation, but insiders doubt how much pressure non-compliant governments will really face.

贸易协定可爱的包容性是有代价的。贫穷国家可以灵活地选择哪些标准它们将立即实施，哪些标准它们可以等待时日——以及哪些标准的实施还需要资金。协定的某些部分是劝告而不是规定。施行这个协定也许会进展缓慢。一项2016年12月发布的研究指出，即便区域贸易协定包括了贸易便利化条款，它们也不一定会得到实施。有一个委员会将会监督贸易协定的实施，但是内部人士怀疑那些不服从规定的国家真正会面临多大的压力。

• Exhortations：n.敦促; 极力推荐; （正式的）演讲; （宗教仪式中的）劝诫;
  

• Cuddly：adj.不由得想搂抱的，可爱的; 令人想拥抱的;

• Come at a cost：以......为代价；付出代价；有开支（花费）

Eight months after Mr Azevêdo triumphantly hailed the WTO’s success in brokering its first deal, India very nearly scuppered it, holding it hostage over an unrelated argument about agricultural subsidies. (WTO wonks still smart at the memory.) Eventually, America thrashed out a compromise in a side-agreement. So the TFA’s history highlights the belligerence of some governments; and, alarmingly for those following the pronouncements on trade of the new Trump administration, the importance of American leadership.

阿泽维多在撮成第一项协议敲定并胜利地宣布世贸组织成果的八个月后，印度差一点就否决了它，把它作为另一不相关的农业补贴提议的筹码。（世贸组织里的政策书呆子在记忆力方面还是机灵的。）最终，美国在一份单边协定中进行了妥协。因此，贸易便利化协定的历史突显了一些国家的好战性；同时也警告了那些特朗普政府的贸易政策声明中的追随者——美国领导力的重要性。

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