Vocabulary

1. acute – 1)острый; 2) критический, крайний; 3)резкий

2. to submit a proposal – внести предложение

3. to review a policy – пересматривать политику

4. to secure supplies – обеспечивать запасы, поставки

TEXT 4

Translate the article into Russian orally.

Chasing the anti-China Vote

The American government lodged a trade complaint on September 17th, alleging that China unfairly subsidises car-part exports.

The American automotive-parts industry which supplies carmakers with everything from seats and bumpers to axles and electronic devices is big, with exports of close to $60 billion in 2010. The industry is a major employer, particularly in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee. But it has endured years of gradual decline. In 2001, five of the top ten global firms were American; by 2009 just two made that list. The first years of the credit crunch hit employment especially hard, with the American industry shedding around 200,000 jobs ─ some 30% of its total-between 2007 and 2009.

The complaint relates to "export bases" set up in 12 Chinese municipalities. In these areas, America's complaint alleges, firms were handed $1 billion in government grants, tax breaks, and subsidised loans between 2009 and 2011, on the condition that they exported the car parts they produced.

The complaint has a good chance of being upheld. The wto has rules against export subsidies for manufactured products, and interprets them broadly. Allowing for appeals, a final ruling might take a year or so.

China lodged its own complaint at the wto against America on 17th September. Many Chinese goods face "countervailing" duties when they are shipped to America. These measures, applied to paper, steel, tyres and chemicals among others, are designed to offset China's subsidies. China reckons they go too far. Recent cases suggest China might well win too.

Does a trade war beckon? Probably not. This tit-for-tat of complaints against existing trade barriers may be causing headaches for the wto's lawyers, but it is better than the alternative, a fight in which countries put up new barriers. An optimistic view would be that a flurry of wto disputes would actually reduce protectionism, unclogging trade channels and reassuring the majority of Americans who said that their country's overall trade deficit with China was a "very serious problem”.

A full-scale trade war over car parts is also unlikely for another reason. American firms are having growing success shipping auto parts to car-mad China, exporting $1.3 billion-worth in 2010.

The Economist, September 2012.

Vocabulary

1. to allege (that) – заявлять, утверждать (что якобы)

2. to endure – перенести, вынести, выдержать

3. credit crunch – ограничение кредитования, кредитный кризис

4. to shed jobs – сокращать рабочие места

5. tax break – налоговые льготы, снижение налоговой ставки

6. to uphold a complaint – поддержать, удовлетворить жалобу

7. final ruling – окончательное решение (суда)

8. to beckon – манить, привлекать

9. to unclog – расчистить, прочистить