原文载于FORTUNE杂志：http://fortune.com/2019/03/06/us-trade-deficit-record-high/
Trump's Plan to Reduce Trade Deficit Falters as it Hits an All-Time High Instead
By NATASHA BACH
Updated: March 6, 2019 1:53 PM ET
| 原文 | 译文（机译+略改） |
|---|---|
| President Trump’s America First policies are not having their intended effect. | 特朗普总统的“美国优先”政策没有达到预期效果。 |
| The Commerce Department reported Wednesday the U.S. posted a more than $891 billion merchandise trade deficit last year—the largest in the history of the country. | 美国商务部星期三报告说，美国去年的商品贸易逆差超过8,910亿美元——达到该国历史极值。 |
| Significantly, the trade deficit with China hit a record $419 billion, despite a series of tariffs the administration imposed on Chinese goods to decrease reliance on imports. | 值得注意的是，尽管美国政府对中国商品征收了一系列关税，以减少对进口的依赖，但美国对华贸易逆差仍达到创纪录的4,190亿美元。 |
| Meanwhile, the overall goods and services deficit jumped 19% between November and December 2018, to $59.8 billion, the highest monthly trade deficit in 10 years. The data shows that Trump’s America First policies to close the trade gap haven’t had their desired effect. Americans are importing far more from abroad than they are exporting—imports grew 7.5% while exports increased only 6.3%. |
与此同时，2018年11月至12月，美国商品和服务贸易逆差增长19%，至598亿美元，为10年来最高月度贸易逆差。 数据显示，特朗普“美国优先”缩小贸易逆差的政策并没有达到预期效果。美国人从国外进口的远远多于出口——进口增长7.5%，而出口仅增长6.3%。 |
| What’s more, Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax cut enacted in late 2017 served to further fuel the deficit. The government had to borrow to pay for the cut, and some of those dollars came from foreign investors. | 此外，特朗普在2017年底实施的1.5万亿美元减税政策进一步加剧了赤字。政府不得不借款来支付削减成本，其中一些美元来自外国投资者。 |
| Simultaneously, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates four times last year to offset fears of an overheating economy, thereby increasing the strength of the dollar and encouraging purchase of relatively inexpensive foreign goods. | 与此同时，美联储去年四次加息，以抵消人们对经济过热的担忧，从而增强了美元的强势，并鼓励购买相对廉价的外国商品。 |
| This is the third consecutive year of increasing trade deficits, topping the previous record in 2006. But while that might be of concern for Trump, many economists disagree with his emphasis on reducing the deficit. They suggest such deficits are not a reflection of American trading relationships, but rather simply a reflection of a variety of economic forces. | 这是美国连续第三年出现贸易逆差增长，超过了先前2006年创下的纪录。尽管这可能令特朗普感到担忧，但许多经济学家不同意他对削减赤字的强调。他们认为，这些赤字并不是美国贸易关系的反映，而只是各种经济力量的反映。 |
- trade
① (N-UNCOUNT) 贸易;买卖;交易 Trade is the activity of buying, selling, or exchanging goods or services between people, firms, or countries.
② (VERB) 做买卖;做生意;从事贸易 When people, firms, or countries trade, they buy, sell, or exchange goods or services between themselves.
③ (N-COUNT) (某一)生意，行业 A trade is a particular area of business or industry.
④ (N-COUNT) 职业;手艺;行当 Someone's trade is the kind of work that they do, especially when they have been trained to do it over a period of time.
⑤ (V-RECIP) 用…进行交换;互相交换 If someone trades one thing for another or if two people trade things, they agree to exchange one thing for the other thing.
⑥ (V-RECIP) 交换，对换(位置或处境) If you trade places with someone or if the two of you trade places, you move into the other person's position or situation, and they move into yours. - deficit
(N-COUNT) 差额;赤字;亏损;逆差 A deficit is the amount by which something is less than what is required or expected, especially the amount by which the total money received is less than the total money spent. - trade deficit
贸易逆差; 贸易赤字；入超; - falter
① (VERB) 衰退;停步不前 If something falters, it loses power or strength in an uneven way, or no longer makes much progress.
② (VERB) (因不自信)畏缩不前，开始出错;犹疑 If you falter, you lose your confidence and stop doing something or start making mistakes.
③ (VERB) (说话)迟疑，吞吞吐吐，支吾 If your voice falters when you are speaking, you hesitate or pause, because you are unsure about what you are saying or are upset. - hit
① (VERB) 打;击 If you hit someone or something, you deliberately touch them with a lot of force, with your hand or an object held in your hand.
② (VERB) 撞击;碰撞 When one thing hits another, it touches it with a lot of force.
③ (VERB) （炸弹、导弹）击中，命中 If a bomb or missile hits its target, it reaches it.
④ (VERB) 打击;使受严重影响 If something hits a person, place, or thing, it affects them very badly.
⑤ (VERB) 使突然想起 When a feeling or an idea hits you, it suddenly affects you or comes into your mind.
⑥ (VERB) 达到（某一高点或低点） If you hit a particular high or low point on a scale of something such as success or health, you reach it.
⑦ (N-COUNT) 成功而轰动（或风行）一时的事物（如唱片、电影或戏剧） If a CD, film, or play is a hit, it is very popular and successful. - all-time
(ADJ) 迄今最…的；空前的；创纪录的 You use all-time when you are comparing all the things of a particular type that there have ever been. For example, if you say that something is the all-time best, you mean that it is the best thing of its type that there has ever been. - instead
① (PREP-PHRASE) 代替…;而不是… If you do one thing instead of another, you do the first thing and not the second thing, as the result of a choice or a change of behaviour.
② (ADV) 作为替代;反而;相反地 If you do not do something, but do something else instead, you do the second thing and not the first thing, as the result of a choice or a change of behaviour. - intended
(ADJ) 打算中的;预期的;预定的 You use intended to describe the thing you are trying to achieve or person you are trying to affect. - commerce
(N-UNCOUNT) 商业;贸易 Commerce is the activities and procedures involved in buying and selling things. - merchandise
(N-UNCOUNT) 商品;货物 Merchandise is goods that are bought, sold, or traded. - significantly
（adv） 意味深长地; 值得注目地; - record
(N-COUNT) （文字或影像）记录，记载 If you keep a record of something, you keep a written account or photographs of it so that it can be referred to later. - despite
① (PREP) 尽管;虽然 You use despite to introduce a fact which makes the other part of the sentence surprising.
② (PREP) 不由自主;情不自禁 If you do something despite yourself you do it although you did not really intend or expect to. - tariff
① (N-COUNT) (政府对进口商品征收的)关税 A tariff is a tax that a government collects on goods coming into a country.
② (N-COUNT) (公共服务的)收费，费用;(旅馆的)住宿费，服务费 A tariff is the rate at which you are charged for public services such as gas and electricity, or for accommodation and services in a hotel. - administration
① (N-UNCOUNT) 管理;经营;行政事务 Administration is the range of activities connected with organizing and supervising the way that an organization or institution functions.
② (N-UNCOUNT) 实施;执行;监管 The administration of something is the process of organizing and supervising it.
③ (N-SING) （公司或机构的）管理部门，行政部门 The administration of a company or institution is the group of people who organize and supervise it.
④ (N-COUNT) （尤指美国）政府 You can refer to a country's government as the administration; used especially in the United States. - impose
① (VERB) 强制实行;强加 If you impose something on people, you use your authority to force them to accept it.
② (VERB) 把(看法、信仰)强加(于…) If you impose your opinions or beliefs on other people, you try and make people accept them as a rule or as a model to copy.
③ (VERB) 使遭受，使承受(压力、痛苦等) If something imposes strain, pressure, or suffering on someone, it causes them to experience it.
④ (VERB) 把…硬加给;把…强塞给;勉强(某人)做事 If someone imposes on you, they unreasonably expect you to do something for them which you do not want to do.
⑤ (VERB) 使打扰;使硬缠 If someone imposes themselves on you, they force you to accept their company although you may not want to. - reliance
(N-UNCOUNT) 依赖；依靠 A person's or thing's reliance on something is the fact that they need it and often cannot live or work without it. - import
① (VERB) 进口;引进 To import products or raw materials means to buy them from another country for use in your own country.
② (N-COUNT) 进口商品;进口货物 Imports are products or raw materials bought from another country for use in your own country.
③ (N-UNCOUNT) 重要(性) The import of something is its importance.
④ (VERB) 导入 If you import files or information into one type of software from another type, you open them in a format that can be used in the new software.
⑤ (N-SING) 意思;含意 The import of something is its meaning, especially when the meaning is not clearly expressed. - export
① (VERB) 出口；输出 To export products or raw materials means to sell them to another country.
② (N-COUNT) 输出品;出口商品 Exports are goods which are sold to another country and sent there.
③ (VERB) 输出;传播 To export something means to introduce it into another country or make it happen there.
④ (VERB) （在计算机中）导出，输出 In computing, if you export files or information from one type of software into another type, you change their format so that they can be used in the new software. - tax
① (N-VAR) 税;税款 Tax is an amount of money that you have to pay to the government so that it can pay for public services.
② (VERB) 对(人、公司或货物)征税 When a person or company is taxed, they have to pay a part of their income or profits to the government. When goods are taxed, a percentage of their price has to be paid to the government.
③ (VERB) 使用尽，耗尽(力气、耐心、资源等) If something taxes your strength, your patience, or your resources, it uses nearly all of them, so that you have great difficulty in carrying out what you are trying to do.
-enact
① (VERB) 将…制定成法律；通过（法案） When a government or authority enacts a proposal, they make it into a law.
② (VERB) 演出;演绎;表演 If people enact a story or play, they perform it by acting.
③ (VERB) 使出现，使发生（尤指以前发生过的事情） If a particular event or situation is enacted, it happens; used especially to talk about something that has happened before. - further
① (ADV-COMPAR) 进一步地;在更大程度上;在更大范围内 Further means to a greater extent or degree.
② (ADV-COMPAR) (发展中)进一步地，向前推进地 If you go or get further with something, or take something further, you make some progress.
③ (ADV-COMPAR) (讨论中)进一步地，更极端地，更彻底地 If someone goes further in a discussion, they make a more extreme statement or deal with a point more thoroughly.
④ (ADJ) 更多的;附加的;另外的 A further thing, number of things, or amount of something is an additional thing, number of things, or amount.
⑤ (ADV-COMPAR) (距离上)更远地，再往前地 Further means a greater distance than before or than something else.
⑥ (ADV-COMPAR) (时间上)更(早或晚) Further is used in expressions such as 'further back' and 'further ahead' to refer to a point in time that is earlier or later than the time you are talking about.
⑦ (VERB) 促进;推进;增进 If you further something, you help it to progress, to be successful, or to be achieved.
⑧ (ADV) 而且;再者;此外 You use further to introduce a statement that relates to the same general topic and that gives additional information or makes an additional point. - fuel
① (N-MASS) 燃料 Fuel is a substance such as coal, oil, or petrol that is burned to provide heat or power.
② (VERB) 刺激;使变得更糟;使加剧 To fuel a situation means to make it become worse or more intense.
③ (PHRASE) (对…)火上浇油 If something adds fuel to a conflict or debate, or adds fuel to the fire, it makes the conflict or debate more intense. - borrow
① (VERB) 借；借用 If you borrow something that belongs to someone else, you take it or use it for a period of time, usually with their permission.
② (VERB) 借（钱）；贷（款） If you borrow money from someone or from a bank, they give it to you and you agree to pay it back at some time in the future.
③ (VERB) 借（书） If you borrow a book from a library, you take it away for a fixed period of time.
④ (VERB) 采用，借用（词语、想法等） If you borrow something such as a word or an idea from another language or from another person's work, you use it in your own language or work. - investor
(N-COUNT) 投资者;投资机构 An investor is a person or organization that buys stocks or shares, or pays money into a bank in order to receive a profit. - simultaneously
(adv)同时地; 一壁; 齐; 一齐; - reserve
① (VERB) 保留;留出;预留 If something is reserved for a particular person or purpose, it is kept specially for that person or purpose.
② (VERB) 预订;保留;预约 If you reserve something such as a table, ticket, or magazine, you arrange for it to be kept specially for you, rather than sold or given to someone else.
③ (N-COUNT) 储备;储存物资;储藏量 A reserve is a supply of something that is available for use when it is needed. - interest
① (N-UNCOUNT) 兴趣;兴味;关注 If you have an interest in something, you want to learn or hear more about it.
② (N-COUNT) 爱好 Your interests are the things that you enjoy doing.
③ (VERB) 使感兴趣;引起…的关注 If something interests you, it attracts your attention so that you want to learn or hear more about it or continue doing it.
④ (VERB) 劝诱;说服(某人)做(某事) If you are trying to persuade someone to buy or do something, you can say that you are trying to interest them in it.
⑤ (N-COUNT) 利益;福利 If something is in the interests of a particular person or group, it will benefit them in some way.
⑥ (N-COUNT) 利益相关者;利益集团 You can use interests to refer to groups of people who you think use their power or money to benefit themselves.
⑦ (N-COUNT) 权益;股权;产权 A person or organization that has interests in a company or in a particular type of business owns shares in this company or this type of business.
⑧ (N-COUNT) 利害关系 If a person, country, or organization has an interest in a possible event or situation, they want that event or situation to happen because they are likely to benefit from it.
⑨ (N-UNCOUNT) 利息 Interest is extra money that you receive if you have invested a sum of money. Interest is also the extra money that you pay if you have borrowed money or are buying something on credit. - offset
(VERB) 抵消；补偿 If one thing is offset by another, the effect of the first thing is reduced by the second, so that any advantage or disadvantage is cancelled out. - overheat
① (V-ERG) （把…）加热过度；（使）变得过热 If something overheats or if you overheat it, it becomes hotter than is necessary or desirable.
② (V-ERG) （使）（经济）发展过快；（使）发展过热 If a country's economy overheats or if conditions overheat it, it grows so rapidly that inflation and interest rates rise very quickly. - thereby
(ADV) 因此;由此;从而 You use thereby to introduce an important result or consequence of the event or action you have just mentioned. - purchase
① (VERB) 买；购买；采购 When you purchase something, you buy it.
② (N-UNCOUNT) 购买行为 The purchase of something is the act of buying it.
③ (N-COUNT) 所购之物；购置物 A purchase is something that you buy.
④ (N-UNCOUNT) 紧握；牢牢抓住 If you get a purchase on something, you manage to get a firm grip on it. - relatively
(ADV) 相对而言;比较起来;某种程度上 Relatively means to a certain degree, especially when compared with other things of the same kind. - consecutive
(ADJ) 连续的;不间断的 Consecutive periods of time or events happen one after the other without interruption. - top
① (N-COUNT) 顶;顶端;顶部 The top of something is its highest point or part.
② (ADJ) 最高的;最上面的;最上层的 The top thing or layer in a series of things or layers is the highest one.
③ (N-COUNT) (瓶、罐、管等的)盖，帽，塞 The top of something such as a bottle, jar, or tube is a cap, lid, or other device that fits or screws onto one end of it.
④ (N-SING) 另一端;另一头 The top of a street, garden, bed, or table is the end of it that is farthest away from where you usually enter it or from where you are.
⑤ (N-COUNT) 上衣 A top is a piece of clothing that you wear on the upper half of your body, for example a blouse or shirt.
⑥ (ADJ) 最高(级别或量度)的 You can use top to indicate that something or someone is at the highest level of a scale or measurement.
⑦ (ADJ) 最优良的 You can use top to say that you think something is excellent.
⑧ (N-SING) 最高层;最高地位(或职位) The top of an organization or career structure is the highest level in it.
⑨ (ADJ) 最重要的;最著名的 You can use top to describe the most important or famous people or things in a particular area of work or activity.
⑩ (N-SING) （排名）首位;（位居）第一 If someone is at the top of a table or league or is the top of the table or league, their performance is better than that of all the other people involved.
⑪ (ADJ) 最要紧的;最优先的 You can use top to indicate that something is the first thing you are going to do, because you consider it to be the most important.
⑫ (ADJ) 次数最多的 You can use top to indicate that someone does a particular thing more times than anyone else or that something is chosen more times than anything else.
⑬ (VERB) 为…之首;居…之冠 To top a list means to be mentioned or chosen more times than anyone or anything else.
⑭ (VERB) 高过；超过；多于 If something tops a particular amount, it is larger than that amount.
⑮ (VERB) 覆盖;放在…的上面 If something is topped with something, it has that thing as its highest part.
⑯ (VERB) 胜过;压倒 If you top a story, remark, or action, you follow it with a better or more impressive one.
⑰ (ADV) 至多;最多 You can use tops after mentioning a quantity, to say that it is the maximum possible. - emphasis
① (N-VAR) 重点;强调 Emphasis is special or extra importance that is given to an activity or to a part or aspect of something.
② (N-VAR) （对音节、单词或短语的）强调，重读 Emphasis is extra force that you put on a syllable, word, or phrase when you are speaking in order to make it seem more important. - reflection
① (N-COUNT) （镜子里的）映像;（水中的）倒影 A reflection is an image that you can see in a mirror or in glass or water.
② (N-UNCOUNT) （光或热等的）反射 Reflection is the process by which light and heat are sent back from a surface and do not pass through it.
③ (N-COUNT) 反映;表现;显示;体现 If you say that something is a reflection of a particular person's attitude or of a situation, you mean that it is caused by that attitude or situation and therefore reveals something about it.
④ (N-SING) 坏的印象 If something is a reflection or a sad reflection on a person or thing, it gives a bad impression of them.
⑤ (N-UNCOUNT) 深思;见解;想法 Reflection is careful thought about a particular subject. Your reflections are your thoughts about a particular subject.
⑥ (N-COUNT) 评论;感想 Reflections on something are comments or writings that express someone's ideas about it.
