第8课

旁白 neutral

Chickens slaughtered in the United States, claim officials in Brussels, are not fit to grace European tables.

布鲁塞尔的官员声称，在美国宰杀的鸡不适合摆上欧洲餐桌。

旁白 neutral

No, say the Americans: our fowl are fine, we simply clean them in a different way.

不，美国人说：我们的家禽很好，我们只是用不同的方式清洗它们。

旁白 neutral

These days, it is differences in national regulations, far more than tariffs, that put sand in the wheels of trade between rich countries.

如今，是各国法规的差异，而不是关税，阻碍了富裕国家之间的贸易。

旁白 neutral

It is not just farmers who are complaining.

抱怨的不仅仅是农民。

旁白 neutral

An electric razor that meets the European Union's safety standards must be approved by American testers before it can be sold in the United States, and an American-made dialysis machine needs the EU's okay before it hits the market in Europe.

一款符合欧盟安全标准的电动剃须刀，在美国销售前必须通过美国测试员的批准；一台美国制造的透析机，在欧洲上市前需要得到欧盟的许可。

旁白 neutral

As it happens, a razor that is safe in Europe is unlikely to electrocute Americans.

碰巧的是，在欧洲安全的剃须刀不太可能电死美国人。

旁白 neutral

So, ask businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, why have two lots of tests where one would do?

因此，大西洋两岸的企业都在问，为什么需要进行两套测试，而一套就足够了？

旁白 neutral

Politicians agree, in principle, so America and the EU have been trying to reach a deal which would eliminate the need to double-test many products.

政治家们原则上同意这一点，因此美国和欧盟一直在努力达成一项协议，以消除许多产品重复测试的必要性。

旁白 neutral

They hope to finish in time for a trade summit between America and the EU on May 28th.

他们希望能在5月28日美国和欧盟贸易峰会前及时完成。

旁白 neutral

Although negotiators are optimistic, the details are complex enough that they may be hard-pressed to get a deal at all.

尽管谈判代表持乐观态度，但细节足够复杂，他们可能很难达成协议。

旁白 neutral

Why? One difficulty is to construct the agreements.

为什么？一个困难是构建协议。

旁白 neutral

The Americans would happily reach one accord on standards for medical devices and then hammer out different pacts covering, say, electronic goods and drug manufacturing.

美国人乐意先就医疗器械标准达成一项协议，然后再敲定涵盖电子产品和药品生产等不同协议。

旁白 neutral

The EU -- following fine continental traditions -- wants agreement on general principles,

欧盟——遵循优良的欧洲大陆传统——希望就普遍原则达成协议，

旁白 neutral

which could be applied to many types of products and perhaps extended to other countries.

这些原则可以适用于多种类型的产品，并且可能扩展到其他国家。