day1-day2
背景查閱
The G20 (or G-20 or Group of Twenty) is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies. Currently, these are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and the European Union. Founded in 1999, the G20 aims to discuss policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability. It seeks to address issues that go beyond the responsibilities of any one organization. The G20 heads of government or heads of state have periodically conferred at summits since their initial meeting in 2008, and the group also hosts separate meetings of finance ministers and foreign ministers due to the expansion of its agenda in recent years.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), is a trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States (until 23 January 2017) and Vietnam. A final agreement was drafted on 5 October 2015, made public on 5 November 2015, and signed on 4 February 2016 in Auckland, New Zealand, concluding seven years of negotiations. It is the largest trade agreement in history.
The North American Free Trade Agreement is an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement between the U.S. and Canada.
NAFTA has two supplements: the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) and the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC).
Most economic analyses indicate that NAFTA has been a small net positive for the United States, large net positive for Mexico and had an insignificant impact on Canada.
day3-4
第一遍略讀
Article Structure：
P1-P3 Apparently, the article is mainly about an altercation in regard of economy between USA and Germany.
P4-P5 The author introduces the concept of trade surplus. This may be the apple of discord of the conflict.
P6 The author now enumerates certain shining points of Germany’s economy model I have a hunch that he may criticize the dark side of this model pretty soon.
P7-P8 As expected, the author starts to point out the adverse side-effects of the model as well as its negative influence on global economy. I can foretell what’s gonna happen next: some advices and solutions.
P9-P10 the author follows my script obediently. He analyzes the possibility of solving the problem and puts stress on the government.
P11 Again, the author criticizes the status quo of German: excessive saving is slowing the whole country and the world. Perhaps, he is not positive toward the future of Germany after all.
day5-day6
The German Problem
Why Germany’s current-account surplus is bad for the world economy
1. current-account surplus: 國際收支經常帳目順差/經常帳目盈余/經常賬盈余
a positive difference between a nation’s savings and investment. A current account surplus indicates that a nation is a net lender to the rest of the world, a current account surplus usually implies that the nation is a large exporter and has a positive trade balance. A current account surplus increases a nation’s net assets by the amount of the surplus.
2. current account：In economics, a country's current account is one of the two components of its balance of payments, the other being the capital account (sometimes called the financial account).
反映一國與他國之間的實際資產的流動，與該國的國民收入賬戶有密切聯系，也是國際收支平衡表中最基本、最重要的部分。
1)trade（goods and services) 進出口貿易，goods的話，能源、礦產、材料、成品都算，services的話比如出國旅游時購買國外航空的機票，預定酒店等等
2) primary/factor income 一種是在本國工作的外國人將工資轉去外國或是在外國工作的本國人把工資轉回來；另一種是跨國的投資收到的回報，轉入國內或從國內轉出。
3) cash transfer? 普通的現金或現匯流動了，涉及政府的資金轉入或轉出，或是個人的資金轉入轉出。
3. be bad for 對...有害/不利
P1. Word & Phrase：
1. battle line noun. 1）a line along which a battle is fought? 2）a line defining the positions of opposing groups in a conflict or controversy ― usually used in plural2. convene /k?n?vi?n/? ? verb [I or T] FORMAL? to arrange (a group of people for) a meeting, or to meet for a meeting:
2. clash noun [C usually singular]? a situation in which people's opinions or qualities are very different from and opposed to each other:
3.?protectionist n. 貿易保護主義者 adj. 貿易保護主義的，保護貿易論的
Sentence：
1.When the world’s big trading nations convene this week at a G20 summit in Hamburg, the stage is set for a clash between a protectionist America and a free-trading Germany.
P2 Word & Phrase：
1. pull out of 退出，拉出，取出
2. renegotiation noun.重新談判 renegotiate v. to negotiate again
3. weigh? verb [T] to carefully consider, especially by comparing facts or possibilities, in order to make a decision.
4. impose verb [T] (FORCE) /?m?p??z/ US /-?po?z/ to officially force a rule, tax, punishment, etc. to be obeyed or received.
5. tariff? /?t?r?f/ n [C]? a tax on goods coming into a country or going out of a country
?? ?tariff on? The government may impose tariffs on imports.
6. provoke (ANGER) /pr??v??k/ US /-?vo?k/ verb [T]? to make or try to make a person or an animal angry.
7. hang over 籠罩，懸掛，威脅，繼續下去
8. chancellor noun 德國總理和奧地利總理都被稱作chancellor。在英國，the chancellor of the exchequer就是指內閣中的財政大臣。在美國，該詞通常指大學校長。
9. veiled /ve?ld/ adjective? describes words or ways of behaving which are not direct or expressed clearly
10. condemn /k?n?dem/ verb [T]? to criticize something or someone strongly, usually for moral reasons
11. imminent /??m?n?nt/ adj? an event that is imminent, especially an unpleasant one, will happen very soon
12. substance noun the quality of being based on facts or the truth
13. rhetoric /?re?.?-/ noun [U] speech or writing which is intended to be effective and persuasive
Sentence：
1. He is weighing whether to impose tariffs on steel imports into America, a move that would almost certainly provoke retaliation.
2. The threat of a trade war has hung over the Trump presidency since January.
3. In contrast, Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor and the summit’s host, will bang the drum for free trade.
4. In a thinly veiled attack on Mr. Trump, she delivered a speech on June 29th condemning the forces of protectionism and isolationism.
P3 Word & Phrase：
1. doctrine noun [C or U] a belief or set of beliefs, especially political or religious, taught and accepted by a particular group.
2. illiterate /??l?t?r?t/ adj? economically/politically/scientifically etc illiterate? knowing very little about economics, politics etc.
3. naive /na??i?v/ adj? not having much experience of how complicated life is, so that you trust people too much and believe that good things will always? happen.
4. level verb [T] to make a surface flat.
5. in one respect 在某一點上；在一個方面
6. inconvenient /??nk?n?vi?ni?nt/ adj? causing problems, often in a way that is annoying
7. admonish /?d?m?n?? US -?mɑ?-/ v [T] formal to tell someone severely that they have done something wrong
?? admonish sb for (doing) sth He has admonished Germany for its trade surplus
8. stand at 達到；躊躇
9. self-defeating adj 適得其反的，弄巧成拙的，事與愿違的
10. persistence /p??s?st?ns US p?r-/ n [U] when something continues to exist or happen, especially for longer than is usual or desirable
???? presistence of And the size and persistence of Germany’s savings hoard makes it an awkward defender of free trade.
11. hoard noun to collect and save large amounts of food, money etc, especially when it is not necessary to do so
12. awkward adj not comfortable 難相處的，不好對付的
Sentence：
1.Mr Trump’s doctrine that trade must be balanced to be fair is economically illiterate.
His belief that tariffs will level the playing field is naive and dangerous: they would shrink prosperity for all.
2.His threatened solution—to put a stop to sales of German cars—may be self-defeating, but the fact is that Germany saves too much and spends too little.
P4 Word & Phrase：
1. bottom (LOWEST PART) /?b?t.?m/ US /?bɑ?.??m/ noun [C usually singular] the lowest part of something
??? at bottom 實際上；根本上；實質上
2. excess /ek?ses/ /?--/ noun [S or U] an amount which is more than acceptable, expected or reasonable
3. mercantilist noun重商主義者 adj 重商主義的
4. urgent /???d??nt US ???r-/ adj very important and needing to be dealt with immediately
Sentence:
1. Nor, as German officials often insist, does it reflect the urgent need for an aging society to save more.
P5 Word & Phrase：
1. Underlie /??n.d??la?/ US /-d?-/ verb [T] underlying, underlay, underlain to be a hidden cause of or strong influence on something
2. in favour of 支持，贊成
Sentence：
1. Underlying Germany’s surplus is a decades-old accord between business and unions in favor of wage restraint to keep export industries competitive.
P6 Word & Phrase：
1. ransom /?r?nt.s?m/ verb [T] to pay money in order to set someone free
2. sponsore verb [T] to officially support a proposal for a new law
3. espouse /??spauz/ v [T] formal to support an idea, belief etc, especially a political one
Sentence：
1. The state played its part by sponsoring a system of vocational training that is rightly admired.
P7 Word & Phrase：
1. perilously /?per?l?sli/ adv literary or formal? in a way that is dangerous and likely to result in something bad soon
P8 Word & Phrase：
1. notably /?n?ut?bli/ adv used to say that a person or thing is a typical example or the most important example of something
2. subsequent /?s?bs?kw?nt/ adj formal? happening or coming after something else
3. enduring /?n?dj??.r??/ US /-?d?r.??/ adjective existing for a long time
Sentence：
1. In the high-inflation 1970s and 1980s Germany’s penchant for high saving was a stabilizing force.
P9 Word & Phrase：
1. bumper /?b?m.p??/ US /-p?/ adjective [before noun] unusually large in amount
Sentence：
1. Pay rose by just 2.3% last year, more slowly than in the previous two years.
P10 Word & Phrase：
2. prudence /?pru?d?ns/ n [U] a sensible and careful attitude that makes you avoid unnecessary risks
Sentence：
2. Greater provision of after-school care by the state would let more mothers work full-time, in an economy where women’s participation is low.
P11 Word & Phrase：
3. compatriot? /k?m?p?t.ri.?t/ US /-?pe?.tri-/ noun [C] FORMAL a person who comes from the same country
Sentence：
3. Above all, it is long past time for Germany to recognize that its excessive saving is a weakness.
