英语读译天天练13

拉米：多哈谈判成败悬于一线
    Doha Round in HK in jeopady

Trade officials have warned that the World Trade Organisation meeting of ministers in Hong Kong is in jeopardy unless talks progress rapidly, with most of the onus on the EU to improve its offer on cutting farm tariffs.

Officials in Europe say Pascal Lamy, WTO director-general, has warned there is no point going ahead with the meeting in December without a more ambitious proposal. The other leading partners in the negotiations the US and the Group of 20 developing countries have also identified the EU as the key sticking point.

“A clear and rising degree of concern has been expressed to us,” said one Commission official. The official confirmed that Mr Lamy had suggested that the next week to 10 days was the make-or-break point for the Doha round of talks. The WTO itself declined to comment.

The EU, which initially offered what the US says is a 24.5 per cent cut in farm tariffs, is working on a second and final offer which it hopes to present this week, proposing cuts averaging probably around 40 per cent. This would fall short of what the US says is the minimum acceptable offer matching the G20's plan for an average 54 per cent cut.

Even making such a proposal will require Peter Mandelson, EU trade commissioner, to win backing from the member states in the face of objections from France. The Commission has tried to emphasise its willingness to work with the French, but Philippe Douste-Blazy, France's foreign minister, insisted yesterday that EU member states had introduced unprecedented cuts in farm subsidies in 2003 and could not go further.

“If there is another bid, it will be a final and non-negotiable one, and will be dependent on progress in the goods and services parts of the talks,” the Commission official said.

John Tsang, the Hong Kong commerce secretary due to host December's ministerial, told the FT the process was “at crisis point.”

“This agriculture deadlock could really derail the whole project,” he said.

译文：

拉米：多哈谈判成败悬于一线
贸易官员们警告说，世贸组织(WTO)香港部长级会议面临危险，除非谈判快速取得进展，大多数责任在于欧盟。欧盟必须改善其削减农产品关税的提议。

欧洲的官员们表示，世贸组织总干事帕斯卡•拉米(Pascal Lamy)已警告说，如果没有一个更有抱负的建议，12月份召开此次会议将没有任何意义。另两个主要谈判伙伴美国和由发展中国家组成的20国集团也把欧盟看作谈判的症结。
“已有人向我们表达了明显的关切，而且关切程度还在上升，”欧盟委员会一位官员表示。该官员确认，拉米先生已经表示，今后一周至10天内，多哈回合谈判成败悬于一线。世贸组织本身拒绝对此置评。
欧盟最初提议削减农产品关税24.5%。欧盟正在制定下一个即最终提议，提议平均削减约40%左右，并希望在本周提交。这将达不到美国所说的可接受提议的最低水平，这一提议与20国集团平均削减54%的计划相当。

就连提出这样一个提议，也将需要欧盟贸易专员彼得•曼德尔森(Peter Mandelson)在面对法国反对的情况下赢得欧盟成员国的支持。欧盟委员会已努力强调，它愿意同法国协作，但法国外长菲利普•杜斯特-布拉西(Philippe Douste-Blazy)昨天坚持表示，欧盟成员国2003年已空前地削减了农业补贴，不能进一步削减。
“如果有另一个提议，那将是没有协商余地的最终提议，并将取决于商品和服务部分谈判的进展，”该委员会官员表示。

香港工商及科技局局长曾俊华告诉《金融时报》，这一进程“处在危急关头”。他将主持12月的部长级会议。

“这一农产品僵局可能真的要破坏整个项目，”他表示