金融時報:來自俄國的失望

來自俄國的失望

歐盟曾對俄國艱難加入WTO寄予厚望，然而熱情迅速變成了熟悉的失望。本文作者是FT駐布魯塞爾記者喬舒亞·查芬(Joshua Chaffin)。

測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識：

renege[r?'ne?g] v./n.食言，出牌違例

sparring ['spɑ:ri?] v.對打

special levies 特別稅費。俄羅斯今年9月對汽車征收報廢回收費用，對外國品牌汽車收取的費用更高。

purportedly[p?:'p?:tidli] adv.據(jù)稱地

stigma['st?gm?] n.恥辱、烙印

eyeball to eyeball 面對面，對峙

ECIPE 歐洲國際政治經(jīng)濟(jì)中心(European centre For International Political Economy)

Russia’s WTO accession 2013年8月22日，作為GDP世界第11大國的俄羅斯正式加入WTO。據(jù)預(yù)計，俄羅斯將把進(jìn)口關(guān)稅從11.5%的平均水平降至7%。世界銀行估計，加入WTO將為俄羅斯帶來更多競爭和更多外商投資，從中期來看，這將為其經(jīng)濟(jì)帶來每年490億美元（相當(dāng)于其國內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值(GDP)的3%）的提振。

Europe cools on Russia’s WTO accession (610 words)

Europe’s top trade official accused Russia of reneging on its commitments to the World Trade Organisation just three months after it joined the group, and warned “the clock is ticking” before EU legal action.

The comments from Karel De Gucht, the EU trade commissioner, set the stage for a tense visit in two weeks when Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, is due to come to Brussels for a bilateral summit.

They also reveal how quickly the optimism that accompanied Russia’s accession to the WTO in August – after nearly 19 years of negotiations – has given way in Europe to a more familiar sense of frustration.

“Since Russia has become a member of the WTO they are doing exactly the opposite of what they are supposed to do or what they have been promising to do,” Mr De Gucht said in Brussels.

“At this moment in time, I’m rather upset about all this,” Mr De Gucht added, calling the developments “very disturbing.”

Brussels has been sparring with Moscow on several trade fronts in recent months, spanning products from wood to slaughtered pigs.

One of the biggest sources of irritation has been a new Russian law that introduces special levies to cover the cost of recycling cars. The law has been billed as an environmental initiative, but EU officials believe it is protectionist because it only applies to imports.

Brussels has also complained about Russia’s blanket ban on imported live animals from Europe – purportedly for health reasons – as well as Moscow’s decision to raise tariffs on hundreds of imported products in spite of joining the WTO.

Russia’s failure to appoint a WTO ambassador thus far has also led some trade officials and analysts to question Moscow’s commitment to its new club.

Viktor Kalmikov, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the EU, questioned the EU’s analysis of the auto recycling fee, and noted that Russia had its own list of complaints against the bloc over matters such as its chemicals regulations.

“What family does not have its quarrels?” he asked, adding: “We believe in the logic of the WTO. We believe in the rules of the WTO.”

Russia is the EU’s third-largest trading partner – after the US and China – but has long been a source of frustration for what EU officials regard as unpredictable, often protectionist, behaviour.

Brussels had championed its bid to join the WTO because it believed it would lock Moscow into a rules-based system that would encourage broader economic reforms and make it easier to resolve occasional disputes.

For Russia, gaining admission to the club removed the stigma of being the last major economy outside it, and was also supposed to help attract foreign investment to diversify an economy reliant on oil and gas exports.

Fredrik Erixon, a director of ECIPE, a Brussels-based think tank that specialises in trade, argued that the Kremlin was trying to avoid a political backlash at home by reinterpreting its WTO obligations.

“Russia entered without a clear idea of why it wants to belong to this club and it has no intention of participating in negotiations to free up trade, the prime purpose of the WTO,” he wrote in an email.

Mr De Gucht warned that his patience was running out, saying: “Either we see movement in this file in the coming weeks, or we will be forced to go to the WTO for dispute settlement. We are left no other choice.”

He also said EU officials would demand answers when they stand “eyeball to eyeball” with the Russian president during the summit, remarking: “I would be very interested to learn from Mr Putin himself what he has on his mind.”

請根據(jù)你所讀到的文章內(nèi)容，完成以下自測題目：

1.What does “the clock is ticking” mean?

A. There's little time left for Russia to fufill its promises.

B. President Putin will arrive soon.

C. EU warns of legal actions against Russia.

D. Trade disputes between them are causing huge losses.

答案(1)

2.What is not true about Russia and the EU on the matter of WTO?

A. The EU has always been pessimistic about Russia's joining in.

B. Russia had engaged in 19 years of negotiations in order to join WTO.

C. Russia was accepted as the last major economy by WTO.

D. The EU and Russia are in the middle of several trade disputes.

答案(2)

3.The disputes between EU and Russia concern······

A. oil and gas trade

B. Russia's special levies on auto recycling

C. Russia's regulations on chemicals

D. the suitable candidate for Russia's ambassador to WTO

答案(3)

4.What is not correct about WTO?

A. Its headquarter in New York, World Trade Center, was destroyed on 9.11.

B. WTO is against protectionism.

C. Settling trade disputes is WTO's key function.

D. Help member states to free up trade is its prime purpose.

答案(4)

* * *

(1) 答案：C.EU warns of legal actions against Russia.

解釋：不難看出C是正確的，文章第一段和倒數(shù)第二段講到了這一內(nèi)容。

(2) 答案：A.The EU has always been pessimistic about Russia's joining in.

解釋：EU曾經(jīng)支持俄國加入，because it believed it would lock Moscow into a rules-based system that would encourage broader economic reforms.中國加入世貿(mào)時發(fā)達(dá)國家對中國也寄與了同樣的期望。BCD都是正確的。

(3) 答案：B.Russia's special levies on auto recycling

解釋：俄羅斯以環(huán)境保護(hù)為由征收汽車報廢回收稅，歐盟認(rèn)為這是保護(hù)主義行為。 A項石油和天然氣貿(mào)易，目前歐盟和俄國對此并未產(chǎn)生爭端。俄國加入WTO是想attract foreign investment to diversify an economy reliant on oil and gas exports. C項對化工制品的管制是俄羅斯對歐盟的抱怨。D項的真實情況是：俄國未能及時任命一位駐WTO大使讓人覺得他們對WTO承諾不夠重視。

(4) 答案：A.Its headquarter in New York, World Trade Center, was destroyed on 9.11.

解釋：BCD是正確的。A是錯誤的，世貿(mào)組織的總部在瑞士日內(nèi)瓦。