经济学人下载:贸易谈判 协议生效背后的艰辛(2)

Step back a bit, however, and the TFA looks rather bedraggled.
然而，稍微退一步来看，贸易便利化协定看上去破旧不堪。

It rose out of the ashes of the Doha round, the last big attempt at a global trade deal, as the least controversial item.
它更像是多哈谈判的死灰，多哈谈判曾是之前对全球贸易协定的巨大尝试，也是拥有最小争议的条款。

Grand trade deals, never very high on governments' agendas, have in recent decades aimed more at locking in existing practice than at winning important new concessions.
大型的贸易交易，政府从来不重视这件事情，近几十年交易的目标更侧重锁定现行的惯例，而不是取得更重要的让步。

The TFA reflects curtailed ambition, after plans for agreements in areas such as intellectual property and trade in services were abandoned.
在诸如知识产权以及贸易服务领域的计划协议被中止后，贸易便利化协定映射出了被削减后的目标。

Its cuddly inclusivity comes at a cost.
贸易协定可爱的包容性是有代价的。

Poorer countries have flexibility over which standards they will put in place immediately, which they need time for—and which they need money for.
贫穷国家可以灵活地选择哪些标准它们将立即实施，哪些标准它们可以等待时日——以及哪些标准的实施还需要资金。

Some bits of the agreement are exhortations rather than rules. Implementation may be slow.
协定的某些部分是劝告而不是规定。施行这个协定也许会进展缓慢。

A study published in December 2016 noted that even when regional trade agreements include trade-facilitation provisions, they are not always put into effect.
一项2016年12月发布的研究指出，即便区域贸易协定包括了贸易便利化条款，它们也不一定会得到实施。

A committee will oversee implementation, but insiders doubt how much pressure non-compliant governments will really face.
有一个委员会将会监督贸易协定的实施，但是内部人士怀疑那些不服从规定的国家真正会面临多大的压力。

Eight months after Mr Azevedo triumphantly hailed the WTO's success in brokering its first deal, India very nearly scuppered it, holding it hostage over an unrelated argument about agricultural subsidies. (WTO wonks still smart at the memory.)
阿泽维多在撮成第一项协议敲定并胜利地宣布世贸组织成果的八个月后，印度差一点就否决了它，把它作为另一不相关的农业补贴提议的筹码。（世贸组织里的政策书呆子在记忆力方面还是机灵的。）

Eventually, America thrashed out a compromise in a side-agreement.
最终，美国在一份单边协定中进行了妥协。

So the TFA's history highlights the belligerence of some governments; and, alarmingly for those following the pronouncements on trade of the new Trump administration, the importance of American leadership.
因此，贸易便利化协定的历史突显了一些国家的好战性；同时也警告了那些特朗普政府的贸易政策声明中的追随者——美国领导力的重要性。