Beyond that, there is now a danger of creating a hodgepodge of inconsistent and partial bilateral agreements which may lower tariffs, but which also create new inefficiencies and dizzying complexities. A small electronics shop, for example, in the Philippines might import alarm clocks from China under one free trade agreement, calculators from Malaysia under another, and so on—each with its own obscure rules and mountains of paperwork—until it no longer even makes sense to take advantage of the trade agreements at all. Instead, we should aim for true regional integration.
除此之外,現在還存在著另一種危險性,即五花八門、缺乏一致性和完整性的雙邊協議。這些協議可能降低一些關稅,同時卻會導致新的低效率與令人眼花繚亂的復雜規定。例如,在菲律賓的一家小型電子產品商店有可能根據一項自由貿易協議從中國進口鬧鐘,但根據另一項協議從馬來西亞進口計算器,以此類推——每一項協議都有其晦澀難懂的規則并需要準備堆積如山的文件——直至這些貿易協議變得毫無意義,其所能提供的益處不復存在。我們的努力方向應當與之相反,即真正實現地區一體化。
That is the spirit behind the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the so-called TPP, which we hope to outline by the time of APEC in November, because this agreement will bring together economies from across the Pacific—developed and developing alike—into a single trading community.
這就是跨太平洋伙伴關系——簡稱“TPP”——倡導的精神。我們希望在今年11月亞太經合組織開會時概述它的內容,因為這項協議將匯集整個太平洋地區的各經濟體——無論是發達國家還是發展中國家——使之成為一個統一的貿易體。
Our goal for TPP is to create not just more growth, but better growth. We believe the TPP needs to include strong protections for workers, the environment, intellectual property, and innovation. It should also promote the free flow of information technology and the spread of green technology, as well as the coherence of our regulatory system and the efficiency of supply chains.
我們建立跨太平洋伙伴關系的目標不只是要取得更大的增長,還要取得更好的增長。我們認為,跨太平洋伙伴關系需要規定嚴格的保護工人、環境、知識產權和創新的條款。它還應該促進信息技術的自由流動和綠色技術的推廣普及,并提高我們的監管體系的一致性與供應鏈的效率。
We are working to ensure that the TPP is the first trade pact designed specifically to reduce barriers for small and medium-sized enterprises. After all, these are the companies that create most of the world’s jobs, but they often face significant challenges to engaging in international trade. So, the TPP aims to ensure fair competition, including competitive neutrality among the state-owned and private enterprises.
我們正在努力確??缣窖蠡锇殛P系成為專門為中小型企業減少壁壘的第一個貿易協議。說到底,是這些中小型企業創造了世界上大部分就業機會,但它們在國際貿易領域往往面臨重大挑戰。因此,跨太平洋伙伴關系旨在確保公平競爭,包括在國有企業和民營企業之間的競爭中保持中立。
The idea is to create a new high standard for multilateral free trade, and to use the promise of access to new markets to encourage nations to raise their standards and join. We are taking concrete steps to promote regional integration and put ourselves on a path over time to bring about a genuine Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific.
我們的想法是為多邊自由貿易制定一個新的高標準,并以準入新市場的承諾來鼓勵各國提高自己的標準和參與其中。我們正在采取具體步驟促進整個地區一體化,使自己逐步走上建立真正的亞太自由貿易區的道路。