GMAT: 许多美国公司把寻求进口竞争法律保护作为一项主要工作

     Many United States companies have, unfortunately, made the search for legal protection from import competition into a major line of work. Since 1980 the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) has received about 280 complaints alleging damage from imports that benefit from subsidies by foreign governments. Another 340 charge that foreign companies “dumped” their products in the United States at “less than fair value.” Even when no unfair practices are alleged, the simple claim that an industry has been injured by imports is sufficient grounds to seek relief.

       不幸的是，许多美国公司已经把寻求进口竞争法律保护作为一项主要工作。自1980年以来，美国国际贸易委员会（ITC）收到了大约280份投诉，指控从外国government补贴中获益的进口产品造成损害。另有340项指控称，外国公司以“低于公允价值”的价格将其产品“倾销”到美国。即使没有所谓的不公平做法，简单地说，一个行业受到进口产品的损害，也足以成为寻求救济的理由。

       Contrary to the general impression, this quest for import relief has hurt more companies than it has helped. As corporations begin to function globally, they develop an intricate web of marketing, production, and research relationships. The complexity of these relationships makes it unlikely that a system of import relief laws will meet the strategic needs of all the units under the same parent company.

       与一般印象相反，这种寻求进口救济的做法伤害了更多的公司，而不是帮助它们。随着企业开始在全球范围内运作，它们发展了一个复杂的营销、生产和研究关系网络。这些关系的复杂性使得进口救济法律体系不太可能满足同一母公司下所有单位的战略需求。

       Internationalization increases the danger that foreign companies will use import relief laws against the very companies the laws were designed to protect. Suppose a United States-owned company establishes an overseas plant to manufacture a product while its competitor makes the same product in the United States. If the competitor can prove injury from the imports—and that the United States company received a subsidy from a foreign government to build its plant abroad—the United States company’s products will be uncompetitive in the United States, since they would be subject to duties.

       国际化增加了外国公司利用进口救济法对付这些法律旨在保护的公司的危险。假设一家美国公司在国外建立了一家工厂来生产一种产品，而它的竞争对手在美国生产同样的产品。如果竞争对手能够证明进口产品造成的损害，并且美国公司获得外国government的补贴在国外建立工厂，那么美国公司的产品在美国将没有竞争力，因为它们将要缴纳关税。

       Perhaps the most brazen case occurred when the ITC investigated allegations that Canadian companies were injuring the United States salt industry by dumping rock salt, used to de-ice roads. The bizarre aspect of the complaint was that a foreign conglomerate with United States operations was crying for help against a United States company with foreign operations. The “United States” company claiming injury was a subsidiary of a Dutch conglomerate, while the “Canadian” companies included a subsidiary of a Chicago firm that was the second-largest domestic producer of rock salt.

       也许最厚颜无耻的案件发生在国际贸易委员会调查加拿大公司倾倒用于除冰道路的岩盐损害美国盐业的指控时。投诉的奇怪之处在于，一家拥有美国业务的外国企业集团正在向一家拥有外国业务的美国公司求援。声称受到伤害的“美国”公司是一家荷兰企业集团的子公司，而“加拿大”公司则包括一家芝加哥公司的子公司，该公司是国内第二大岩盐生产商。

Tips

complaint 抱怨；诉苦；疾病；委屈

complaint about 投诉；对…抱怨

lodge a complaint 投诉；对…提出控告

complaint center 投诉中心

make a complaint 提出投诉；抱怨

complaint handling 投诉处理

chief complaint 主诉

The most common complaint is about poor service. 最常见的投诉与服务差有关。

mplaint against one of our nurses. 我认为你对我们的一位护士有怨言。

I'd like to make a complaint about the noise. 我要就噪音问题提出投诉。

a formal complaint 正式控告

a complaint that he had been unfairly treated 抱怨说他受到了不公正待遇

I can see no grounds for complaint . 我看没理由抱怨。

a letter of complaint 投诉信

a skin complaint 皮肤病

dump

v. 倾倒；丢下；猛地放下；（向国外）倾销；随便堆放；与（某人）结束恋爱关系；（非正式）抛弃；（非正式）抛售；卸出（数据）；（内存信息）转储

n. 垃圾场；废渣堆；矿山废石堆；（非正式）脏地方；军需品临时存放处；转储；（非正式）拉屎

dump truck 自动倾卸卡车

waste dump 废石堆，废料堆

garbage dump 垃圾场；垃圾堆

rubbish dump 垃圾堆；碎石堆

refuse dump 垃圾场

dump car 自动倾卸车

have a dump 拉屎

an ammunition dump 弹药临时堆积处

fair value 公允价值；公平价格

They dumped their old car in the dump. 他们把旧汽车扔到垃圾堆里。

What saved her career, in 2010, was getting dumped. 2010年拯救她事业的，是被甩。

And it dumped about 30 inches of rain in 24 hours.

该台风在24小时内带来了约30英寸的降雨。

That's dumping about a foot of snow in higher elevations.

冬季风暴使高海拔地区的降雪达到一英尺厚。

grounds

n. 根据，理由（ground的复数形式）；基础；地面；运动场地

v. 把…放在地上；把…建立在牢固的基础上；上底色（ground的第三人称单数）

on the grounds of 基于……理由，根据

on grounds of 以…为理由；根据…

coffee grounds 咖啡渣

in the grounds of 以...为依据

seek relief 寻求救济

import relief 进口救济

intricate 复杂的；错综的，缠结的

Internationalization 国际化

internationalization strategy 国际化战略

Economic Internationalization 经济国际化

RMB Internationalization 人民币国际化

internationalization process 国际化进程国际化程序学派

Managing Internationalization 管理国际化

manufacture

n. 制造；产品；制造业

vt. 制造；加工；捏造

vi. 制造

manufacture process 建造过程

manufacture management 制造管理

steel manufacture 钢铁工业；炼钢业

supervise the manufacture of 监制

manufacture plant [化]制造工厂

manufacture bases 施工依据

lean manufacture 精益生产；精实生产；精益制造

duty 责任；[税收] 关税；职务

on duty 值班，上班

heavy duty 重型；重载；重税

custom duty 关税

off duty 下班

sense of duty n. 责任感；责任心

duty free 免税

legal duty 法律职责

active duty 现役

import duty 进口税

high duty 高关税；高性能的；重型的

do your duty 承担责任；尽职；尽本分

neglect of duty 玩忽职守；[法]失职；过失责任

He was weaned on a diet of rigid discipline and duty. 他自幼受到严格纪律和职责的约束。

brazen

adj. 厚颜无耻的；无所顾忌的；黄铜制的；黄铜色的；（声音）响而刺耳的

vt. 厚着脸皮；硬着头皮

as bold as brass 厚颜无耻的；极其胆大妄为

bold-faced 厚颜无耻的；冒失的；粗体字的

She had become brazen about the whole affair. 她对整件事已经不感到羞耻了。

his brazen admission that he was cheating 他恬不知耻地承认自己在骗人

rock salt 岩盐

conglomerate

n. 企业集团；聚合物；砾岩

adj. 企业集团的；聚合物的；成团的；砾岩性的

v. （使）聚结，凝聚成团

conglomerate reservoir 砾岩储集层

a media conglomerate 大众传媒联合体

The chemical companies had amalgamated into a vast conglomerate.

这些化学公司已经合并成了一个巨型企业集团。

cry for 迫切需要；恳求；吵着要

cry for help 大声求援

subsidiary

n. 子公司；辅助者

adj. 辅助的，次要的；附属的；子公司的

subsidiary company 附属公司，子公司

subsidiary products 副产品；辅助产品

subsidiary bank 分行

subsidiary legislation 附属法例

subsidiary facilities 附属设施

subsidiary information 辅助资料

a subsidiary matter 附带问题