That view seems naive. It is not just that workers in all sorts of other industries that have suffered at the hands of Chinese competitors will now be emboldened to seek the same kind of protection from a president who has given in to the unions at the first opportunity. The tyre decision needs to be set into the context of a string of ominously protectionist policies which started within weeks of the inauguration with a nasty set of "Buy America" provisions for public-works contracts. The president watered these down a bit, but was not brave enough to veto. Next, the president stayed silent as Congress shut down a project that was meant to lead to the opening of the border to Mexican trucks, something promised in the NAFTA agreement of 1994. Besides these sins of commission sit the sins of omission: the president has done nothing at all to advance the three free-trade packages that are pending in Congress, with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, three solid American allies who deserve much better. And much more serious than that, because it affects the whole world, is his failure to put anything worthwhile on the table to help revive the moribund Doha round of trade talks. Mr Bush's tariffs, like the Reagan-era export restraints on Japanese cars and semiconductors, came from a president who was fundamentally committed to free trade. Mr Obama's, it seems, do not.
A. 어휘
naive 순진한. competitor 경쟁자. embolden 대담하게 하다.
protection 보호. give in 항복하다. union 勞組(노조).
at the first opportunity 기회가 있는 대로. context 맥락. string 실, 끈, 연속.
ominously 불길하게. protectionist policies 보호무역주의정책.
inauguration 就任(취임), 취임식. nasty 몹시 더러운, 불쾌한.
provisions 條項(조항), 규정. public-works 공공토목공사.
water down 물로 물게 하다, 골자를 빼다. border 국경.
NAFTA agreement 북미 자유무역협정. besides ...외에도.
commission 권한, (범죄의) 수행. omission 태만, 소홀, 생략.
pending 현안중의, 미결정의, 매달려 있는. solid 단단한, 믿을 수 있는.
deserve 당연한 보답을 받을만하다. revive 소생시키다.
moribund 瀕死(빈사)의, 죽어 가는. tariff 관세. restraint 억제.
semiconductor 반도체. fundamentally 근본적으로.
111-4-512
America is needed to lead. The global trading system has many enemies, but in recent times the man in the White House could be counted as its main champion. As the driver of the world's great opening, America has gained hugely in terms of power and prestige, but the extraordinary burst of growth that globalisation has triggered has also lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty over the past few decades and brought lower prices to consumers everywhere. The global recession threatens to undo some of that, as country after country is tempted to subsidise here and protect there. World trade is likely to slump by 10% in 2009, and a report from the London-based Global Trade Alert claimed this week that, on average, a G20 member has broken the no-protectionism pledge once every three days since it was made. For Mr Obama now to take up the no-protection cause at the G20's forthcoming meeting in Pittsburgh would, alas, be laughable. But if America does not set an example, no one else is likely to.
B. 어휘
global trading system 세계무역제도. count 간주되다.
prestige 명성, 위세. in terms of ...의 견지에서. burst 폭발, 炸裂(작렬).
trigger 방아쇠를 당기다, ...를 일으키다. lift 들어 올리다, 제거하다.
recession 후퇴, 불경기. threaten 위협하다.
undo 원상으로 되돌리다, 취소하다, 망치다. tempt 유혹하다.
subsidise 보조금을 주다. alert 警戒(경계), 警報(경보).
protectionism 보호무역주의. pledge 誓約(서약).
once every three days 3일에 한 번씩. take up 보호하다.
cause 대의명분, 사회적인 운동, 주의. forthcoming 가까이 다가오는.
- For Mr Obama now to take up . . . would, alas, be laughable.
cf. For Mr Obama →부정사 to take up 의 의미상 주어.
[Obama대통령이 다가오는 Pittsburgh의 G20 회담에서 보호무역반대 운동을 옹호하고 나선다면 웃을 일이 될 것이다.]
