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在美国大选年，贸易争论越来越出现保护主义的趋势。在此之际，美国国会正在考虑批准美国与中美洲国家的自由贸易协定。上月签署的中美洲自由贸易协定（Cafta）将尼加拉瓜、洪都拉斯、萨尔瓦多、危地马拉，以及上周日达成的协议，将哥斯达黎加纳入了北美贸易区。如同北
美自由贸易协定（Nafta）一样，中美洲自由贸易协定给该地区经济一体化、稳定和民主化的贡献不可估量。
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Just as US election-year rhetoric on
trade turns protectionist, lawmakers are considering ratification of the US free
trade agreement with Central American countries. The Central American Free Trade
Agreement, signed last month, brings Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala
and, following agreement on Sunday, Costa RicasintosNorth America's fold. Like
the North American Free Trade Agreement, Cafta will add immeasurably to regional
integration, stability and democratisation. |
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但是，民主党和共和党双方均将关于贸易问题的辩论简化为一个词：就业。是竞选政治的逻辑胜出呢？还是国会和总统候选人意识到Cafta以及众多优点，从政治上予以支持并尽快批准呢？
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Yet Democrats and Republicans have
reduced the debate about trade to one word: jobs. Will the logic of campaign
politics prevail, or will Congress, and the presidential hopefuls, recognise
that Cafta and its many merits demand political support and rapid ratification?
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在目前总统大选的情况下，与中美洲新的贸易协议不单单显示贸易政策走向，同时也展示自由贸易政策可能达到的成就。民主党，特别是总统候选人，应当意识到中美洲自由贸易协定包括了罗斯福、肯尼迪和克林顿总统倡导的自由贸易承诺。共和党必须承认，Cafta是迈向废除代价高昂的农业补贴的重大步骤。正是该问题使全球自由贸易谈判陷入僵局。
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In the context of the presidential
election, a new trade agreement with Central America is not merely a symbol of
the direction of trade policy. It points to what liberal trade policy might
achieve. Democrats - in particular the presidential candidates - should
recognise that Cafta embodies a commitment to free trade furthered by presidents
Roosevelt, Kennedy and Clinton. Republicans must acknowledge that Cafta marks a
significant step towards abolishing costly farm subsidies that have imperilled
global free trade negotiations. |
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在针对是否批准该协议进行的国会辩论期间，无论任何政党都不应当忽视Cafta对美国经济和政治的长期价值。美国自由贸易政策对美国社会繁荣的贡献并未得到应有的估量。Nafta和现在的Cafta显示，坚持自由贸易政策能够为美国带来许多长期利益。
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During the congressional debate over
ratifying the agreement, neither party should lose sight of Cafta's long-term
economic and political value to the US. The contributions of America's free
trade policy to the country's welfare have gone largely unappreciated. Nafta
and, now, Cafta demonstrate that a dedicated free trade policy can lead to many
long-term benefits for the US. |
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上月是Nafta实施10周年。自从该协议实施以来，在鼓励美国、加拿大，更重要的是墨西哥的经济增长和社会繁荣方面提供了有力的证据。在Nafta实施以来的10年中，贸易伙伴之间的贸易总额翻了一番还多，2003年达到了6210亿美元，而美国向加拿大和墨西哥的出口从1420亿美元增长到2630亿美元。
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Nafta, which celebrated its 10th
anniversary this month, has built up a powerful record of encouraging growth and
prosperity in the US, Canada and, most significantly, Mexico. In Nafta's first
decade, total trade between the partners more than doubled, reaching bn in
2003, while US exports to Canada and Mexico grew from bn to bn.
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持批评态度的人们曾担心Nadta将导致所谓的“逐低竞争” (race
to the
bottom)，从而打击墨西哥经济，这种观点证明是完全错误的。过去10年中，墨西哥向美国的出口增长了242％，与Nafta相关的贸易帮助创造了100多万个新的工作岗位。现在墨西哥每5个工人中就有一个是在出口相关的产业工作，为出口行业工作人们的工资比在为国内经济服务的工人工资高出37％。
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Critics who feared Nafta would start
a "race to the bottom" that would hit the Mexican economy could not have been
more wrong. In the past 10 years, Mexican exports to the US have grown by 242
per cent and Nafta-related trade has helped to create more than 1m new jobs.
These export jobs now employ one in five Mexican workers, providing wages 37 per
cent higher than jobs servicing the domestic economy. |
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在后冷战的世界，稳定的邻国有利于增强美国的安全，自由贸易在帮助形成美国的地区伙伴方面意义重大。墨西哥的新繁荣为该国的转型奠定了基础，使它由一个贫穷的邻国向一个富有生机、实行多党制民主和负责任的稳定北美伙伴国过渡。甚至对那些批评自由贸易最尖锐的人们来说，这些证据也应当是不言而喻的：即自由贸易对美国的安全和繁荣均有好处。Cafta将继续朝着这个方向发展。
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In a post-cold-war world, stable
neighbours enhance US security - and free trade is essential to help build up
America's regional partners. Mexico's new-found prosperity laid the foundation
for the country's transition from a needy neighbour to a vibrant yet stable
multi-party democracy that is a responsible partner in North America. The
Mexican experience serves as a model for its neighbours. It should be evident to
even the most caustic critic of free trade that such developments benefit US
security as well as prosperity. Cafta will continue this positive pattern of
development. |
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但是，美国国会山和其他持有批评态度的人们也警告说，Cafta在保障劳工权利和保护环境方面准备不足。在这个问题上，他们也是错误的。贸易政策导致整个北美地区工人获得广泛的社会福利改善方面，Nafta也提供了很好的例证。Nafta实施10来，外部世界对墨西哥当地劳工惯例表示了强烈的关注，这些关注不仅仅是来自加拿大和美国的观察家。这种发展有助于强化基本的劳工标准和改善工会以及工人条件。
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But critics on Capitol Hill and
elsewhere also warn that Cafta does not sufficiently deal with labour rights and
environmental concerns. Here, too, they are mistaken - Nafta is a positive
example of trade policy leading to broader social benefits for workers
throughout the hemisphere. In Mexico, 10 years of Nafta have led to intensive
external scrutiny of local labour practices, not least by observers from Canada
and the US. This has helped strengthen basic and improved conditions for unions
and workers alike. |
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Cafta在中美洲劳工条件改善方面作出了同样的承诺。环境保护条款也很积极，承诺实行国际公认的环境保护标准和进行技术合作。目前，美国在该地区尚无约束性的环境保护协议。
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Cafta's labour commitments promise
similar improvements for Central American workers. The environmental text is
also positive, with its new commitments to internationally recognised benchmarks
on environmental protection and technical co-operation. Currently, the US has no
binding environmental agreements in the region. |
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很长时间以来，人们低估了Nafta带来的实际利益。我们不应该让Cafta葬于国会的保护主义之手，成为竞选政治的牺牲品。Nafta提供了有力的的证据：自由贸易增进美国的政治和经济利益，也在同等程度上强化美国的价值。Cafta将给美国和中美洲美国贸易伙伴带来同样的好处。将自由贸易延伸到该地区，美国将会从中获益。
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The practical benefits of Nafta have
long been undervalued. We should not let Cafta fall prey to cynical politics and
die at the hands of a protectionist Congress. Nafta has provided potent evidence
that free trade supports US values as much as it does US economic and political
interests. Cafta offers the same benefits to the US as to America's partners in
Central America. By extending free trade further in the region, the US would
stand to benefit. |
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作者是美国贸易代表办公室政策计划主任，法律事务所Hunton &
Williams的国际业务实务策略部门主席。 |
The writer, a former director of
policy planning at the Office of the US Trade Representative, chairs the
Strategic International Business Practice at Hunton & Williams LLP
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译者/秋实 |
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