VOA常速英语2008年-US, South Korea Remove Trade Obstacle With Beef
时间：2019-01-20 作者：英语课 分类：VOA常速英语2008年（四月）
Seoul
18 April 2008
South Korean officials have publicly announced details of a deal to resume imports of United States beef. South Korea cited health concerns when it banned U.S. beef five years ago. The issue has been a major source of friction 1 in the two allies' trade relationship, and could have threatened the passage of a sweeping 2 free trade deal. VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul.
Just 24 hours before South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was scheduled to meet with President Bush at Camp David, South Korea said Friday it would relax import restrictions 4 on U.S. beef.
Assistant South Korean Agriculture Minister Min Dong-seok announced details of the deal, reached after months of wrangling 5 between both countries' trade negotiators.
He says the two sides agreed on sanitary 6 conditions that permit the import of most beef parts - including those with bones - from U.S. cattle under 30 months old.
That is seen as a crucial first step in opening South Korea's beef market, which the government slammed shut in December 2003 after a single case of mad cow disease was discovered in the United States. South Korea began resuming imports of boneless U.S. beef last April, then re-imposed the complete ban after bones were found in several shipments.
South Korea has cited disease fears as the main reason for the restriction 3. Media campaigns sponsored by South Korean beef producers have implied for years that U.S. beef is dangerous.
However, U.S. officials say U.S. beef is safe - an assertion effectively backed last year by the United Nations World Organization for Animal Health. U.S. beef producers have described the ban as a thinly-veiled form of protectionism, by a nation that was once the world's third largest importer of U.S. beef.
Friday's deal sets up a framework for the gradual but complete resumption of U.S. beef imports, from cattle of any age. U.S. lawmakers had warned Congress may reject a massive trade liberalization deal between the United States and South Korea if the beef issue is not resolved.
In a new release welcoming Friday's deal, the American Chamber 7 of Commerce in Korea predicted the "U.S. agriculture industry and U.S. business community will now come out in full force" behind the free trade pact 8. The deal lowers trade barriers on everything from automobiles 9 to financial services, and is expected to fuel a roughly $20 billion increase in commerce between the two countries.
U.S. beef is expected to be on store shelves here in South Korea within one or two months.
- When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
- Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。
- The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
- Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？
- The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
- The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。
- I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
- a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制
- The two sides have spent most of their time wrangling over procedural problems. 双方大部分时间都在围绕程序问题争论不休。 来自辞典例句
- The children were wrangling (with each other) over the new toy. 孩子为新玩具（互相）争吵。 来自辞典例句
- It's not sanitary to let flies come near food.让苍蝇接近食物是不卫生的。
- The sanitary conditions in this restaurant are abominable.这家饭馆的卫生状况糟透了。
- For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
- The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。
- The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
- The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。
- When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》