第单元国际贸易

第3单元　国际贸易
Unit 3 International Trade

Text A

Ⅰ．课文导读

21世纪初期，国际贸易发生了巨大的改变。国际贸易区域化使国际经济变得错综复杂。除带来了贸易快速发展外，还促进了贸易自由化，从而带动了贸易组织的发展。国际贸易组织促成了区域经济体内对外贸易以及经济的蓬勃发展，但是对于区域国家和地区影响力有限。只能由非成员国与成员国进行合作来减轻区域化带来的负面影响。经济全球化带来了全球经济的腾飞，但区域化却与全球化不相符合。新旧国际贸易体系存在矛盾，但同时也都在快速改变中。

Ⅱ．Text

Aswe approach the 21st century，the international trade arena^[1]is amixture of successes and failures of the recent pastwhich have created a composite of unknowns，uncertainties，and apprehensions．Unquestionably，the global trading arena has undergone some profound changes during the last decade．These changes have，on the one hand，brought about a greater degree of trade liberalization than ever before．Tariffs are at the lowest levels they have ever been，non-tariff barriers^[2]have been reduced to unprecedented levels，and trade liberalization has become the dominant philosophy of trade ministers，international trade organizations，corporate executives，and certainly the academicians．

One of the greatest econoMic dichotomies^[3]of our time is the parallel development of greater regional economic or trading blocs^[4]such as the European Union and the North American Free Trade Agreement，and serious attempts to liberalize trade at the global level．During the last few years of the 20th century，the number of countries belonging to regional blocsmushroomed．While this trend may be beneficial to themember states of such trading blocs，its total effect on the global trade picture，particularly its impact on non-members，is at best questionable．Probably themost important argument centers on the question of trade creation versus trade diversion．

Those who favor a regional approach to trade liberalization^[5]，arguewith some justification，that regional trading blocs create specialization and thus greater productivity．They further argue that the increase in income resulting froMimproved productivity will generate greater demand for all products，including imports．Thus，the conclusion is that regional trading blocs createmore international trade．

Those who oppose regionalisMcounter that even if regional trading blocs do increase international trade，most，if notall，of the increase is in intra-bloc trade and non-members do notbenefit;in reality they lose partof their exportmarket．They further argue that the increase in the intra-bloc trade is in fact larger than the total increase in global trade，and the difference is the reduction in trade between members and non-members．They particularly point to the significance of non-tariff barriers in creating this situation．In short，they argue that tariff rates in major trading countries have already been reduced to a point that they have little or no effect on imports．For example，the average tariff rate in the United States is about3 percent．Thus a product imported froMMexico under NAFTA will have a 3 percent price advantage over an identical product imported froMBrazil or Malaysia．This is simply not enough to convince a buyer to purchase one product over another．The non-tariff barriers，on the other hand，do play a significant role．

By definition，regional trading blocs are discriminatory．They may be innocuous^[6]in their discriMination，and they may even be legal under the prevailing international commercial law，but they are nevertheless discriminatory．They favor trade with(more accurately imports from) certain countries than with others．This bias is not because some countries produce better quality or less expensive products，but rather because of their geographical location or strong political connections．Itwould be naive to advocate that political realities，including long-terMrelations between neighboring countries，could be or even should be ignored．Itwould be as naive to disregard the reason why countries join regional trading blocs，namely the fact that such agreements are created for the benefit of theirmember states，and not to enhance the global economic wellbeing．

Given the contemporary econoMic and political realities，those unfortunate countries which do not happen to be in the right geographical location or have the right political connections have feWoptions．They can join a feWof their neighboring countries and forMtheir own free trade area．In fact，more than ten such attempts were made during the last ten years;however，none experienced much success．In part they failed because they were not genuine policy initiatives; rather they were reactions against other more successful attempts at creating regional trading blocs．More significantly，they failed because they did not have some of themajor ingredients that are needed to make a free trade agreement a success，namely sufficient econoMic power and adequate trade infrastructure^[7]．An economic integration agreement needs an‘anchor’^[8]to maintain it，otherwise itwill drift away．The European Union has been successful because it includes France，Germany，and Italy to serve as an anchor．Despite many problems，NAFTA will succeed because it includes the United States，which has been willing to play the same role．On the other hand，numerous other attempts have failed because they lacked the‘anchor’．ASEAN(the Association of South East Asian Nations) is a good illustration of this point．It included some of the fastest growing economies of the world，and logically its creation should have contributed significantly to the economic development of itsmember states．In reality，however，almost three decades after its formation，ASEAN is still in its developmental stage，precisely because it does not have an economic power base—the anchor—that a successful alliance requires．

A second alternative available to the countrieswhich are notmembers or potentialmembers of existing economic groupings is to seek concessionary^[9]agreements froMthese blocs．While thismay not be themost elegant approach，political realitiesmay make theMless unacceptable; after all，they may serve the purpose of giving non-members some reprieve^[10]．The European U-nion has provided several examples of how this approachMightwork．The EU has eliMinated all trade barriers among itsmember states，thus putting non-members at a distinct disadvantage in trading with itsmember states．To alleviate the burden this has placed on some of its previously major trading partners，the European Union has negotiated a number of concessionary agreements giving preferential treatment to certain countries．While these agreements do not give anything close to fullmembership to these countries，they do provide some benefits for these nations．Most signatories^[11]to these preferential agreements had special trade relations with one or moremembers of the European Union before it was formed．For example，many are former French colonies in Africa or former British colonies and members of the Commonwealth．

While there seems to be a general consensus^[12]that globalization of trade will have a positive effect on the world economy as a whole; this unity does not existwhen the aggregate^[13]picture is broken down into different national or regional units or groups．Also，the question of who themajor beneficiaries of global trade liberalization are is left largely unanswered．Some argue that for two reasons，most of the gains generated by an expansion of international trade are directed at the industrialized countries．First，according to this hypothesis，any policy which expands international trade would more probably benefit those who are heavily engaged in it．The proponents of this theory point to the volume of trade and the fact that industrialized countries make up more than 70 percent of global exports．Second，in a convoluted^[14]way，they argue that industrial countries'tariff rates are already low，and multilateral trade negotiations are merely a ploy by theMto force the developing countries to lower their protective trade barriers and expose their fragile industries．Others，on the other hand，maintain that because most developing countries are in the early stages of establishing their exportmarkets，any liberalization will open up vastmarkets of the industrialworld to them，and thereforewill benefit theMthemost．For example，numerous studies substantiate^[15]the advantages of mass production and the economies of scale．Accordingly，industrial production requires aminimuMlevel before the production ofmanufacturing products becomes economically viable^[16]．Different products have different points at which the benefits ofmass production are realized．Nevertheless，most products do have aminimum，economically feasible，level of production．Furthermore，many developing countries are too small to reach this level with their indigenous^[17]demand．Consequently，the only way that the production of such manufacturing products can be globally competitive would be through exports．In otherwords，withoutexports smaller countrieswould not be able to industrialize their economies，regardless of the cost involved．

Ⅲ．Notes

1．European Union(欧盟)．EU is an economic and political union of 27 independent member stateswhich are located primarily in Europe．The EU traces its origins froMthe European Coal and Steel Community(ECSC) and the European EconoMic Community(EEC)，formed by six countries in 1958．Important institutions of the EU include the European ComMission，the Council of the European Union，the European Council，the Court of Justice of the European U-nion，and the European Central Bank．

2．North American Free Trade Agreement(北美自由贸易协定)．NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada，Mexico，and the United States，creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America．The agreement came into force on January 1，1994．It superseded the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement between the U．S．and Canada．

3．Association of South East Asian Nations(东盟)．ASEAN is a geo-political and economic organization of ten countries located in Southeast Asia，which was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia，Malaysia，the Philippines，Singapore and Thailand．Since then，membership has expanded to include Brunei，Burma(Myanmar)，Cambodia，Laos，and Vietnam．Its aims include the acceleration of econoMic grow th，social progress，cultural development among its members，the protection of regional peace and stability，and to provide opportunities formember countries to discuss differences peacefully．

4．The Commonwealth(英联邦)．The Commonwealth of Nations，normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth，is an intergovernmental organization of fifty-four independentmember states．The member states cooperate within a framework of common values and goals as outlined in the Singapore Declaration．Activities of the Commonwealth are carried out through the permanent Commonwealth Secretariat，headed by the Secretary-General，and biennialmeetings between Commonwealth Heads of Government．

Ⅳ．Useful Expressions

1．bring about:导致

2．trade liberalization:贸易自由化

3．be beneficial to:对……有利

4．intra-bloc trade:集团内部之间的贸易

5．In short:总之

6．tariff rates:关税率

7．average tariff rate:平均关税率

8．play a significant role:起到巨大的作用

9．make up more than 70 percent of global exports:占有百分之七十以上的国际出口率

10．multilateral trade negotiations:多边贸易谈判

11．in other words:换句话说

Ⅴ．Reading CoMprehension

Questions

1．What great changes have taken place in the global trading arena？2．What does the economic dichotomy refer to？

3．How do people argue for and against regionalism？

4．In whatway do regional trade blocs impede global economic well-being？5．Who are themajor beneficiaries of global trade liberalization？

Decide whether each of the following statements is true or false．

1．Regional economic or trading blocs lead to trade diversion of the world．　(　)

2．Regional trading blocs increase the trade among blocs，so international trade increases．(　)

3．Regional trading blocs increase the trade among blocs but reduce the trade betweenmembers and non-members．　(　)

4．Trading blocs intend to liberalize trade at the global level．　(　)

5．Geographical location is an important factor for countries to forMtrading blocs．(　)

6．Preferential agreements are only offered to member countries．　(　)

7．Asmore countries are industrialized，international trade will expand．　(　)

8．Liberalization will create vastmarkets of the industrial world，and therefore will benefit developing countries themost．

9．Members of NAFTA getmost benefit in global trade liberalization．　(　)

10．Industrial production requires amedieval level before the production ofmanufacturing

products becomes econoMically viable．　(　)

Ⅵ．Discussion

What is your opinion of regional trade blocs？

Text B

BEC Reading Texts

PART ONE

Questions 1—8

·Look at the statements below and the five extracts about diMinishing returns froMan article．

·Which extract(A，B，C，D or E) does each statement(1—8) refer to？

·For each statement(1—8)，make one letter(A，B，C，D or E) on your Answer Sheet．·You will need to use some of these lettersmore than once．

1. The effect is that the efficiency with which the cocoa industry uses labor will decline，and returnswill diMinish．

2. DiMinishing returns show that it is not feasible for a country to specialize to the degree suggested by the simple Ricardian model outlined earlier．

3. It ismore realistic to assume diminishing returns for two reasons．First，not all resources are of the same quality．

4. Diminishing returns to specialization occurswhenmore units of resources are required to produce each additional unit．

5. A second reason for diminishing returns is that different goods use resources in different proportions．

6. However，it ismore realistic to assume diMinishing returns to specialization．

7. Thus，the basic conclusion that unrestricted free trade is beneficial still holds，although because of diminishing returns，the gainsmay not be as great as suggested in the constant returns case．

8. The simple comparative advantagemodel developed above assumes constant returns to specialization．

A. By constant returns to specialization wemean the units of resources required to produce a good(cocoa or rice) are assumed to remain constant no matter where one is on a country's production possibility frontier(PPF)．Thus，we assumed that it always took Ghana 10 units of resources to produce one ton of cocoa．

B. While 10 units of resourcesmay be sufficient to increase Ghana's output of cocoa froM12 tons to 13 tons，11 units of resourcesmay be needed to increase output from13 to 14 tons，12 units of resources to increase output froM14 tons to 15 tons，and so on．

C. For example，imagine that growing cocoa usesmore land and less labor than growing rice，and thatGhana tries to transfer resources froMrice production to cocoa production．The rice industry will release proportionately too much labor and too little land for efficient cocoa production．To absorb the additional resources of labor and land，the cocoa industry will have to shift toward more labor-intensivemethods of production．

D. As a country tries to increase its output of a certain good，it is increasingly likely to draWonmoremarginal resourceswhose productivity is not as great as those initially employed．The result is that it requires evermore resources to produce an equal increase in output．

E. Diminishing returns to specialization suggest that the gains froMspecialization are likely to be exhausted before specialization is complete．In reality，most countries do not specialize out，instead，produce a range of goods．However，the theory predicts that it isworthwhile to specialize until that point where the resulting gains froMtrade are outweighed by diMinishing returns．

PART TWO

Questions 9—14

·Read the text about the international trade．

·Choose the best sentence to fill each of the gaps．

·For each gap(9—14)，mark one letter(A-H) on your Answer Sheet．

·Do not use any lettermore than once．

W hat International Trade is about？

International trade is the exchange of capital，goods，and services across international borders or territories．In most countries，such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product(GDP)．While international trade has been present throughoutmuch of history，(9)．．．

Industrialization，advanced transportation，globalization，multinational corporations，and outsourcing are all having amajor impact on the international trade system．(10)．．．without international trade，nationswould be limited to the goods and services produced within their own borders．

International trade is，in principle，not different froMdomestic trade as the motivation and the behavior of parties involved in a trade do not change fundamentally regardless of whether trade is across a border or not．(11)．．．The reason is that a border typically imposes additional costs such as tariffs，time costs due to border delays and costs associated with country differences such as language，the legal systeMor culture．

Another difference between domestic and international trade is that factors of production such as capital and labor are typically more mobile within a country than across countries．(12)．．．，and only to a lesser extent to trade in capital，labor or other factors of production．Trade in goods and services can serve as a substitute for trade in factors of production．

Instead of importing a factor of production，(13)．．．An example is the import of labor-intensive goods by the United States froMChina．Instead of importing Chinese labor，the United States imports goods thatwere produced with Chinese labor．One report in 2010 suggested that international trade was increased when a country hosted a network of imMigrants，but the trade effectwasweakened when the imMigrants became assiMilated into their new country．

International trade is also a branch of econoMics，which，(14)．．．

A. The main difference is that international trade is typically more costly than domestic trade

B. International trade allows us to expand ourmarkets for both goods and services

C. its economic，social，and political importance has been on the rise in recent centuries

D. Increasing international trade is crucial to the continuance of globalization

E. a country can import goods thatmake intensive use of that factor of production and thus embody it

F. in which prices，or supply and demand，affect and are affected by global events

G. together with international finance，forms the larger branch of international econoMics

H. Thus international trade ismostly restricted to trade in goods and services

PART THREE

Questions 15—20

·Read the following article on the international trade．

·For each question(15—20) mark one letter(A，B，C or D) on your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose．

The great strength of the theories of Smith，Ricardo，and Heckscher-Ohlin is that they identify with precision the specific benefits of international trade．Common sense suggests that some international trade is beneficial．For example，nobody would suggest that Iceland should growits own oranges．Iceland can benefit froMtrade by exchanging some of the products that it can produce ata low cost(fish) for some products that it cannot produce at all(oranges)．Thus，by engaging in international trade，Icelanders are able to add oranges to their diet of fish．The theories of Smith，Ricardo，and Heckscher-Ohlin go beyond this commonsense notion，however，to show why it is beneficial for a country to engage in international trade even for products it is able to coproduce for itself．This is a difficult concept for people to grasp．For example，many people in the United States believe that American consumers should buy products produced in the United States by American companieswhenever possible to help save American jobs froMforeign com-petition．Such thinking apparently underlay a 2002 decision by PresidentGeorgeW．Bush to protect American steel producers froMcompetition froMlower cost foreign producers．

The same kind of nationalistic sentiments can be observed inmany other countries．However，the theories of SMith，Ricardo，and Heckscher-Ohlin tell us that a country's economy may gain if its citizens buy certain products froMother nations that could be produced at home．The gains arise because international trade allows a country to specialize in themanufacture and export of products that can be produced most efficiently in that country，while importing products that can be produced more efficiently in other countries．So itmay make sense for the United States to specialize in the production and export of commercial jet aircraft，since the efficient production of commercial jet aircraft requires resources that are abundant in the United States，such as a highly skilled labor force and cutting-edge technological know-how．On the other hand，itmay make sense for the United States to import textiles froMChina since the efficient production of textiles requires a relatively cheap labor force and cheap labor is not abundant in the United States．

Of course，this econoMic argument is often difficult for segments of a country's population to accept．with their future threatened by imports，U．S．textile companies and their employees have tried hard to persuade the government to liMit the importation of textiles by demanding quotas and tariffs．Although such import controlsmay benefit particular groups，such as textile businesses and their employees or unprofitable steelMills and their employees，the theories of Smith，Ricardo，and Heckscher-Ohlin suggest that such action hurts the economy as a whole．Limits on imports are often in the interests of domestic producers，but not domestic consumers．

15. Why does the author offer an example of Iceland？

A. To emphasize the great strength of the theories of Smith，Ricardo，and Heckscher-Ohlin．

B. To explain the connotation of international trade．

C. To prove the benefit of some international trade．

D. To show the exchange of orange and fish in international trade．

16. By the word“underlay”(line 12，paragraph1)，the authormeans______．

A. influenced

B. determined

C. supported

D. accounted for

17. What does“nationalistic sentiments”mean in the passage？

A. Sentiments are held by the whole nation．

B. People are patriotic towards their homeland．

C. Consumers should buy products produced in their own country．

D. Countries should not import products．

18. What does“this”(line1，paragraph 3) refer to？

A. United States should specialize in the production and export of commercial jet aircraft．

B. United States should import textiles froMChina for its cheap labor force．

C. Consumers should buy products produced in their homeland to help save jobs．

D. A country's economy may gain if its citizens buy certain products froMother nations that could be produced at home．

19. What does theories of Smith，Ricardo，and Heckscher-Ohlin suggest when a country limits its importation？

A. It hurts the economy as a whole．

B. It helps increase job opportunities．

C. The international trade is not beneficial to the country．

D. Domestic consumers are beneficial froMlimiting importation．

20. Which is themain idea of the last paragraph？

A. Persuasion of U．S．textile companies

B. The difficulty to accept theories of Smith，Ricardo，and Heckscher-Ohlin．

C. Limits on imports．

D. The influence of liMits on imports．

PART FOUR

Questions 21—30

·Read the article below about the specialization and international trade．

·Choose the correctword to fill each gap froMa，B，C or D．

·For each question(21—30)，mark one letter(A，B，C or D) on your Answer Sheet．

Specialization and International Trade

The high(21)．．．of specialization in our society increases the standard of living of all by making more goods and services available．But specialization necessarily implies trade and cannot occur without it．This(22)．．．froMthe fact that people usually want to have a“(23)．．．diet．”The specialized producer uses only a small part-maybe none-of his own product for his personal(24)．．．，and he exchanges his surplus for the goods and services of other specialized producers．

The exchange of goods and services among residents of the same country is usually called (25)．．．trade．Countries cannot live alone any more effectively than individuals can．Thus，each country tends to specialize in the production of those commoditieswhich it can produce relatively more(26)．．．than other countries，exchanging its surplus for the(27)．．．of other countries，of goods and services which they produce relatively more cheaply，or which the first country cannot produce at all．This process brings(28)．．．an international division of labor which makes it possible tomakemore goods and services available to all countries．(29)．．．，the international division of labor and specialization increases the standard of living in all countries in the same way that the division of labor and specialization within a single，(30)．．．economy increases the standard of living of all of its residents．

21. A. grade　　　　　B. level　　　　　C. degree　　　　D. extent

22. A. arises　　　　 B. follows　　　　C. differs　　　 D. gains

23. A. healthy　　　　B. natural　　　　C. balanced　　　D. proper

24. A. consumption　　B. opinion　　　　C. habit　　　　 D. need

25. A. international　B. border　　　　 C. domestic　　　D. free

26. A. attractively　 B. preciously　　 C. rarely　　　　D. cheaply

27. A. commodities　　B. deficit　　　　C. currency　　　D. surplus

28. A. about　　　　　B. forth　　　　　C. out　　　　　 D. into

29. A. Therefore　　　B. However　　　　C. Moreover　　　D. Besides

30. A. open　　　　　 B. closed　　　　 C. prospect　　　D. world

PART FIVE

Questions 31—40

·Read the article below about the comparative advantage in international trade．

·For each question 31—40，write one word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet．

The CoMparative Advantage

In econoMics，the laWof comparative advantage says that two(31)．．．will both gain froMtrade if，in the absence of trade，they have different relative costs for producing the same goods．Even if one country is more efficient in the production of all goods(32)．．．the other，both countrieswill still gain by trading with each other，as(33)．．．as they have different relative efficiencies．

For example，(34)．．．，using machinery，a worker in one country can produce both shoes and shirts(35)．．．6 per hour，and a worker in a country with less machinery can produce (36)．．．2 shoes or 4 shirts in an hour，each country can gain froMtrade because their internal trade-offs between shoes and shirts are(37)．．．The less-efficient country has a comparative advantage in shirts，so it(38)．．．itmore efficient to produce shirts and trade theMto themore-efficient country for shoes．without trade，its(39)．．．per shoewas2 shirts;by trading，its cost per shoe can reduce to as low as 1 shirt depending on how much trade occurs．The more-(40)．．．country has a comparative advantage in shoes，so it can gain in efficiency by moving some workers froMshirt-production to shoe-production and trading some shoes for shirts．without trade，its cost to make a shirtwas1 shoe;by trading，its cost per shirt can go as low as1/2 shoe depending on how much trade occurs．

The net benefits to each country are called the gains froMtrade．

PART SIX

Questions 41—52

·Read the text below froMa report about sale contact．

·In most lines(41—52)，there is one extra word．It either is grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the sense of the text．Some lines，however，are correct．

·If a line is correct，write CORRECT on your Answer Sheet．

·If there is an extra word in the line，write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet．

Sale Contact

41. Should the Sellers fail to load the goodswithin the time as notified as by the Buyers，on board the

42. vessel booked by the Buyers after its arrival at the shipping portof shipment，all expenses such

43. as dead freight，demurrage，and consequences thereof shall be borne by the Sellers．Should if

44. the vessel be withdrawn or replaced or delayed eventually or the cargo should be shut out etc．，

45. and the Sellers are not informed in goodtime to stop delivery of the calculation of loss for storage

46. expenses and insurance premiuMthus be sustained at the loading port should be based on the

47. loading date notified by the agent to the Sellers(or based on the date of the arrival of the cargo at

48. the loading port in case the cargo should arrive there not later than the notified loading date)．The

49. abovementioned loss is to be calculated froMthe 16th day after expiry of the free storage time at

50. port should be borne by Buyerswith the exception of Force Majeure．However，and the Sellers

51. still undertake to load the cargo immediately upon the carrying vessel's arrival at the loading port

52. at their own risks and expenses．The above payment of aforesaid expenses shall be effected against presentation of the original vouchers after being checked．

【注释】

[1]arena:(古罗马圆形剧场中央的)角斗场，表演场;喻指竞争场所

[2]non-tariff barrier:无关税堡垒

[3]dichotomy:二分法

[4]regional economic or trading blocs:区域经济或贸易集团

[5]trade liberalization:贸易自由化

[6]innocuous:无伤大雅的

[7]trade infrastructure:贸易基础

[8]anchor:锚;常喻指精神支柱，靠山

[9]concessionary:特许

[10]reprieve:暂时宽限

[11]signatory:签署国

[12]consensus:共识

[13]aggregate:全面的

[14]convoluted:错综复杂的

[15]substantiate:证实

[16]viable:可行的

[17]indigenous:当地的，本土的;固有的