Translate the article into Russian orally. Euro-MPs Vote to Extend Sugar Quotas
Euro-MPs Vote to Extend Sugar Quotas
A plan to liberalise the EU sugar market, one of the most highly subsidised aspects of European agricultural policy, has been thrown into doubt after lawmakers rejected a proposal to end production quotas by 2015.
The European Parliament’s agriculture committee voted instead to extend the quotas until 2020. Some observers predicted they could last well beyond that.
The vote drew a harsh reaction from food and drink companies, which view the quota system as a protectionist relic and blame it for supply shortages and EU sugar prices that are roughly 50 per cent higher than those on world markets.
The quota system dates back to the 1960s, and was established as a way to ensure stable prices for Europe’s beet farmers. Since then, it has also enriched a collection of large European sugar companies.
Supply shortages have become acute in recent years, with last year’s quota of 13.8m tonnes failing to keep pace with EU consumption of more than 16.5m tonnes. The price of sugar has risen to more than €700 per tonne in the EU, compared with world prices of just under €500.
EU prices have also been supported by high tariffs on imported sugar from all but the poorest countries.
Under pressure from the World Trade Organisation, the EU adjusted its sugar policy in 2006, and member states agreed to end production quotas by 2015. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has submitted a formal proposal to do so as part of its broader review of the common agricultural policy.
But the agriculture committee’s vote makes that unlikely. Germany and France, the EU’s biggest member states, are also thought to favour an extension of the quotas.
An extension of the quotas – and the high tariffs – will be particularly painful for small and medium-sized food companies, which have struggled to secure supplies, while maintaining profits for big sugar companies.
The Financial Times, January 23rd, 2013
USEFUL TERMS AND EXPRESSIONS
· acute – 1) острый;2) критический, крайний;3) резкий
· to submit a proposal – внестипредложение
· to review a policy – пересматривать политику
· tosecuresupplies – 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.
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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. TheWTO 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 theWTO 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 theWTO’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 ofWTO 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.
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The Economist, September 22nd, 2012
USEFUL TERMS AND EXPRESSIONS
· toallege (that) – заявлять, утверждать (что якобы)
· to endure – перенести, вынести, выдержать
· creditcrunch – ограничение кредитования, кредитный кризис
· toshedjobs – сокращать рабочие места
· taxbreak –налоговые льготы, снижение налоговой ставки
· toupholdacomplaint – поддержать, удовлетворить жалобу
· finalruling – окончательное решение (суда)
· to beckon – манить, привлекать
· to unclog – расчистить, прочистить
TEXTS FOR TRANSLATION IN WRITING
TEXT 5
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