首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
(1)Farmers in the developing world hate price fluctuations. It makes it hard to plan ahead. But most of them have little choice:
(1)Farmers in the developing world hate price fluctuations. It makes it hard to plan ahead. But most of them have little choice:
admin
2016-11-03
119
问题
(1)Farmers in the developing world hate price fluctuations. It makes it hard to plan ahead. But most of them have little choice: they sell at the price the market sets. Farmers in Europe, the U.S. and Japan are luckier: they receive massive government subsidies in me form of guaranteed prices or direct handouts. Last month U.S. President Bush signed a new farm bill that gives American farmers $190 billion over the next 10 years, or $83 billion more than they had been scheduled to get, and pushes U.S. agricultural support close to crazy European levels. Bush said the step was necessary to "promote farmer independence and preserve the farm way of life for generations". It is also designed to help the Republican Party win control of the Senate in November’s mid-term elections.
(2)Agricultural production in most poor countries accounts for up to 50% of GDP, compared to only 3% in rich countries. But most farmers in poor countries grow just enough for themselves and their families. Those who try exporting to the West find their goods whacked with huge tariffs or competing against cheaper subsidized goods. In 1999 the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development concluded that for each dollar developing countries receive in aid they lose up to $14 just because of trade barriers imposed on the export of their manufactured goods. It’s not as if the developing world wants any favours, says Gerald Ssendawula, Uganda’s Minister of Finance. "What we want is for the rich countries to let us compete."
(3)Agriculture is one of the few areas in which the Third World can compete. Land and labour are cheap, and as farming methods develop, new technologies should improve output. This is no pie-in-the-sky speculation. The biggest success in Kenya’s economy over the past decade has been the boom in exports of cut flowers and vegetables to Europe. But that may all change in 2008, when Kenya will be slightly too rich to qualify for the "least-developed country" status that allows African producers to avoid paying stiff European import duties on selected agricultural products. With trade barriers in place, the horticulture industry in Kenya will shrivel as quickly as a discarded rose. And while agriculture exports remain the great hope for poor countries, reducing trade barriers in other sectors also works: America’s African Growth and Opportunity Act, which cuts duties on exports of everything from handicrafts to shoes, has proved a boon to Africa’s manufacturers. The lesson: the Third World can prosper if the rich world gives it a fair go.
(4)This is what makes Bush’s decision to increase farm subsidies last month all the more depressing. Poor countries have long suspected that the rich world urges trade liberalization only so it can wangle its way into new markets. Such suspicions caused the Seattle trade talks to break down three years ago. But last November members of the World Trade Organization, meeting in Doha, Qatar, finally agreed to a new round of talks designed to open up global trade in agriculture and textiles. Rich countries assured poor countries, that their concerns were finally being addressed. Bush’s handout last month makes a lie of America’s commitment to those talks and his personal devotion to free trade.
What is the writer’s attitude towards new farm subsidies in the U.S.?
选项
答案
The writer is critical of those subsidies.
解析
最后一段首句说布什做出的提高农业补助的决定是令人沮丧的(depressing)。末句说布什的议案使美国的承诺以及他个人的有关自由贸易的主张变成了谎言。可见作者持批判性的态度。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/8S7O777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
Accordingtolegend,theancientOlympicGameswerefoundedbyHeracles,asonofZeus.YetthefirstOlympicGamesforwhich
Accordingtolegend,theancientOlympicGameswerefoundedbyHeracles,asonofZeus.YetthefirstOlympicGamesforwhich
Languagelearningbeginswithlistening.Individualchildrenvarygreatlywiththeamountoflisteningtheydobeforetheystart
InterculturalLearningManyteachersmaywonder"WhatamIactuallydoing?"sometimes.Itdoesn’tseemenoughtoteachgram
Thetownitselfisdreary:notmuchisthereexceptthecottonmill,thetwo-roomhouseswheretheworkerslive,afewpeachtre
Mr.NetanyahusaidhisplanwouldgreatlybenefitthefollowinggroupEXCEPT
Whoisregardedas"theFatherofEnglishPoetry"?
Therearearound6,000languagesintheworldtoday.AtleasttherewereuntilJanuaryof2001.ThenCarlosWestezdied.Westez
一个人的生命究竟有多大意义,这有什么标准可以衡量吗?提出一个绝对的标准当然很困难;但是,大体上看一个人对待生命的态度是否严肃认真,看他对待工作、生活的态度如何,也就不难对这个人的存在意义做出适当的估计了。古来一切有成就的人,都很严肃地对待自己的生
A、Heavypollutionfortheenvironment.B、Muchlargerdemandforhighways.C、Greatercompetitionforphysicalspace.D、Riseinst
随机试题
简述货币乘数与存款货币扩张倍数的联系与区别。
纳税人应当按期缴纳或者解缴税款,纳税人有特殊困难不能按期缴纳的,经批准可以延期缴纳,但最长不得超过()
什么是艺术批评?举例论述艺术批评的功能。
工程建设项目投资决策的参与主体包括()。
PON关键技术主要包含()。
A.条件(1)充分,但条件(2)不充分B.条件(2)充分,但条件(1)不充分C.条件(1)和条件(2)单独都不充分,但条件(1)和条件(2)联合起来充分D.条件(1)充分,条件(2)也充分E.条件(1)和条件(2)单独都不充分,条件(1)和条件(2
求微分方程y’’+2y’-3y=e-3x的通解.
极限=________.
A、 B、 C、 D、 B在赋值和输入语句中使用数组名时,表示将同一个值同时赋给该数组的全部数组元素。可以用一维数组的形式访问二维数组,数组y的定义中只定义了6个元素,而选项A)的下标已经超出了数组的
Whydidthewomantalktotheprofessor?
最新回复
(
0
)