Amid a weakening U.S. economy, America's foreign-trade policy has become a contentious issue in the presidential race. Both major Democratic Party candidates say free-trade pacts have harmed American workers, while the presumed Republican nominee - as well as President Bush - are defending trade as necessary and economically beneficial.
在美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)日益疲軟的情況下，美國(guó)的對(duì)外貿(mào)易政策已經(jīng)在這次總統(tǒng)競(jìng)選中成為引起爭(zhēng)論的議題。民主黨的兩位主要參選人都說自由貿(mào)易傷害了美國(guó)工人，而可望獲得提名的共和黨候選人以及布什總統(tǒng)卻辯護(hù)說貿(mào)易是必要的，對(duì)經(jīng)濟(jì)有好處。

America's economy has undergone a transformation in recent decades, with millions of manufacturing jobs transferred overseas. At the same time, much of the job growth recorded in the United States has come in the service sector, often at lower wages and with fewer benefits than the manufacturing jobs that once formed the backbone of the U.S. economy.
美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)在近幾十年里經(jīng)歷了轉(zhuǎn)型，數(shù)以百萬(wàn)計(jì)的工作崗位轉(zhuǎn)移到了海外。與此同時(shí)，在美國(guó)就業(yè)增長(zhǎng)統(tǒng)計(jì)中，有很大一部分出自服務(wù)行業(yè)，往往比一度構(gòu)成美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)支柱的制造業(yè)的工作薪水低，福利待遇少。

Despite this trend, U.S. gross domestic product has nearly tripled during the past 20 years, with unemployment rates that rarely rise above six percent. But America's strong overall economic performance does not appear to have boosted the public's perceptions of the benefits of trade.
盡管出現(xiàn)了這種趨勢(shì)，美國(guó)的國(guó)內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值在過去20年間比原來(lái)增加了兩倍，失業(yè)率很少有超過6%的時(shí)候。但是美國(guó)強(qiáng)勁的總體經(jīng)濟(jì)表現(xiàn)似乎沒有增強(qiáng)人們對(duì)貿(mào)易好處的認(rèn)識(shí)。

Recent polls show declining support for pacts such as the North American Free Trade Agreement. The agreement, known as NAFTA, was negotiated in the 1990s between the United States, Canada and Mexico. It is particularly unpopular in states like Ohio that have seen entire industries relocate overseas.
近來(lái)的民意調(diào)查顯示，北美自由貿(mào)易協(xié)議之類的條約所獲得的支持率正在下降。這項(xiàng)協(xié)議是在1990年代由美國(guó)、加拿大和墨西哥談判達(dá)成的。在像俄亥俄州這樣的各種工業(yè)遷到海外的一些州，這項(xiàng)協(xié)議尤其不得人心。

At a recent Democratic presidential debate in Ohio, Illinois Senator Barack Obama said trade pacts like NAFTA have harmed American workers and their communities.
最近在俄亥俄州舉行的民主黨總統(tǒng)競(jìng)選辯論中，伊利諾伊州參議員奧巴馬說，像北美自由貿(mào)易協(xié)議這樣的貿(mào)易條約傷害了美國(guó)工人和他們的社區(qū)。

"If you travel through Youngstown [Ohio] and you travel through communities in my home state of Illinois, you will see entire cities that have been devastated as a consequence of trade agreements that were not adequately structured to make sure that U.S. workers have a fair deal," said Senator Obama.
他說：“如果你到俄亥俄州的洋茲城和我的家鄉(xiāng)伊利諾伊州的社區(qū)走一趟，你會(huì)看到整個(gè)城市陷于蕭條，這是貿(mào)易協(xié)議的一個(gè)后果。這些貿(mào)易協(xié)議沒有寫上充分的條款來(lái)保證美國(guó)工人得到一個(gè)公平協(xié)議。”

Obama stressed he is not anti-trade, but wants to make sure that future trade pacts include labor, safety and environmental standards to protect American workers and consumers.
奧巴馬強(qiáng)調(diào)他不反對(duì)貿(mào)易，但是他要確保未來(lái)的貿(mào)易條約必須包括勞工、安全和環(huán)保等方面的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，來(lái)保護(hù)美國(guó)工人和消費(fèi)者。

His Democratic rival, New York Senator Hillary Clinton, had a similar message.
他的同黨對(duì)手、紐約州參議員希拉里.克林頓發(fā)出了類似的信息。

"I have seen the factories close and move," said Senator Clinton. "We need to have a plan to fix NAFTA. I would immediately have a trade time out. [temporary halt]"
她說：“我看到了工廠關(guān)門和搬遷。我們需要有一個(gè)修改北美自由貿(mào)易協(xié)議的計(jì)劃。”

But if Democrats are sounding protectionist themes, not so Republicans. The presumed Republican presidential nominee, Arizona Senator John McCain, recently said that NAFTA has created jobs in the United States, and that erecting trade barriers would be self-defeating.
如果說民主黨人似乎發(fā)出了保護(hù)主義的呼聲，共和黨人卻不是這樣。有望獲得共和黨候選人提名的亞利桑那州參議員麥凱恩最近說，北美自由貿(mào)易協(xié)議在美國(guó)創(chuàng)造了就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)，而設(shè)置貿(mào)易壁壘將會(huì)是自取失敗。

Thursday, President Bush echoed those words.
上星期四，布什總統(tǒng)應(yīng)聲附和了麥凱恩的話：

"Free trade is essential to the formation of high-paying quality jobs," said President Bush.
“自由貿(mào)易對(duì)于創(chuàng)造高薪高品質(zhì)的工作機(jī)會(huì)是至關(guān)重要的?！?/p>

Mr. Bush added that dismantling or rejecting trade pacts would anger and alienate U.S. allies.
布什還說，撕毀或者反對(duì)貿(mào)易條約將會(huì)激怒并且疏遠(yuǎn)美國(guó)的盟友。

In recent years, the U.S. Congress has approved free-trade deals with Central American nations and Peru. Approval is pending for similar pacts with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea.
近年來(lái)，美國(guó)國(guó)會(huì)批準(zhǔn)了同中美洲國(guó)家以及秘魯?shù)淖杂少Q(mào)易協(xié)議。美國(guó)跟哥倫比亞、巴拿馬和韓國(guó)達(dá)成的類似協(xié)議正在等待批準(zhǔn)。

Stu Rothenberg, who publishes a political newsletter in Washington, says in the current political climate, with a weakened U.S. economy, getting the Democratically-controlled Congress to approve further trade deals will be difficult.
在華盛頓出版發(fā)行一份政治刊物的斯圖.羅森堡說，在當(dāng)前的政治氣候下，由于美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)疲弱不振，要讓民主黨控制的國(guó)會(huì)批準(zhǔn)更多的貿(mào)易協(xié)議將是困難的。

"Democrats believe that the evolution of the U.S. economy is a function of jobs going overseas, and they regard the loss of those [manufacturing] jobs as a huge problem for the country," said Stu Rothenberg. "The way they often put it is that high-paid, skilled manufacturing jobs go overseas, and in place we get more people serving hamburgers at McDonalds."
羅森堡說：“民主黨人認(rèn)為，美國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)的演變是就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)流向海外的作用，他們把那些制造業(yè)的工作流失看作是這個(gè)國(guó)家的一個(gè)極大問題。他們經(jīng)常的說法是高薪的、技能型的制造業(yè)工作遠(yuǎn)走海外，而我們換來(lái)的卻是有更多人在麥當(dāng)勞賣漢堡包?！?/p>

　　　

Rotherberg says, on the whole, Americans have grown wary of free trade. But he is quick to add that the sentiment is not uniform. He notes that in U.S. regions that depend on exports, especially in agriculture, voters tend to reject protectionism.
羅森堡說，總的來(lái)看，美國(guó)人對(duì)于自由貿(mào)易變得警覺起來(lái)。不過，他補(bǔ)充說，這種情緒并不是普遍一致的。他指出，在美國(guó)一些依賴出口的地區(qū)，特別是在農(nóng)業(yè)方面，選民們趨向于反對(duì)保護(hù)主義。

"[In] many Midwest states, people in Kansas and Nebraska tend to be very [supportive of] free trade, because exporting U.S. agricultural products is absolutely crucial to them," he said.
他說：“在中西部許多州，在堪薩斯州和內(nèi)布拉斯加州的人往往非常支持自由貿(mào)易，因?yàn)槌隹诿绹?guó)農(nóng)產(chǎn)品對(duì)于他們來(lái)說是絕對(duì)重要的?！?/p>

Rothenberg notes that many of the states where trade is contentious issue - like Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania - are so-called "swing states" in the presidential race, where neither party can automatically assume victory.
羅森堡指出，貿(mào)易問題成為爭(zhēng)論性議題的許多州，比如俄亥俄、密西根和賓夕法尼亞等州，是在總統(tǒng)競(jìng)選中所謂的“搖擺不定的州”。在這些州，任何一個(gè)政黨都不能輕言勝券在握。

In 2004, George Bush's win in Ohio gave him the electoral votes he needed to surpass his Democratic rival, John Kerry, and win re-election. Ohio is certain to be a major target for the eventual Democratic presidential nominee, and if the current debate among candidates is any indication, trade will remain a central campaign issue in the months ahead.
2004年，喬治.布什在俄亥俄州取得的勝利給予他超過民主黨對(duì)手約翰.克里所需要的選舉人票而再次當(dāng)選。俄亥俄州肯定是獲得提名的民主黨總統(tǒng)候選人的必爭(zhēng)之地。如果當(dāng)前候選人之間的辯論有任何指標(biāo)意義，那就是，貿(mào)易將在今后幾個(gè)月繼續(xù)作為選戰(zhàn)的一項(xiàng)核心議題。