Stage 7 Expanded Reading
In this stage you are expected to broaden your horizon into the topic of the lecture.Please read the following article carefully.
Sanctions Pack a Bigger Punch Than You Might Think
A sanction is often used as a sort of carrot-and-stick approach to dealing with international trade and politics.In March 2014,for example,in response to the Russian annexation of Crimea,the United States and the European Union froze the American and European assets of members of Vladimir Putin’s“inner circle,”which includes politicians,business leaders and one bank.In response,Russia sanctioned several American politicians,including House Speaker John Boehner,Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid,and Arizona Senator John McCain.The impact of Russian sanctions on American politicians was expected to be limited,and was treated humorously:John McCain deadpanned in a March 20th Tweet,“I guess this means my spring break in Siberia is off,Gazprom stock is lost & secret bank account in Moscow is frozen.”
While the targeted Russians did not all have foreign assets,they faced financial strain.They were unable to carry out dollar-denominated transactions; banks were less willing to help them for fear of angering Western governments; and American businesses weren’t able to work with them.In the long term,however,these sanctions were likely to have less impact than broader sanctions on Russian energy exports to Europe.Roughly 53% of Russia’s gas exports go to the EU,worth an estimated $24 billion a year.
A country has a number of different types of sanctions at its disposal.Sanctions can take many forms,including tariffs,quotas,embargoes,non-tariff barriers,and asset freezes or seizures.While some are more widely used than others,the general goal of each is to force a change in behavior.
Sanctions are categorized in several ways.One way to describe them is by the number of parties issuing the sanction.A“unilateral”sanction means that a single country is enacting the sanction,while a“bilateral”sanction means that a group or block of countries is supporting its use.Another way of categorizing sanctions is by the types of trade they limit.Export sanctions block goods flowing into a country,while import sanctions block goods leaving the country.The two options are not equal and will result in different economic ramifications.An export sanction generally has a lighter impact than an import sanction.A case in which an export sanction could work is the blocking of sensitive technological know-how from entering the target country,which finds it harder to create this sort of good in-house.
Blocking a country’s exports through an import sanction increases the possibility that the target country will experience a substantial economic burden.For example,on July 31,2013,the U.S.passed the bill H.R.850,which basically blocked Iran from selling any oil abroad because of its nuclear program.This bill followed a year in which Iran’s oil exports had already been cut in half by international sanctions.If countries don’t import the target country’s products,the target economy can face industry collapse and unemployment,which can put significant political pressure on the government.
While the goals of sanctions are to force a country to alter its behavior,there is much variation as to how the sanctions are leveled and whom they target.Sanctions can target a country as a whole,as in the case of an embargo on a country’s exports(e.g.U.S.sanctions on Cuba).They can target specific industries,such as an embargo on the sale of weapons of petroleum.Since 1979,the United States and European Union have prohibited the import or export of goods and services to Iran.
Sanctions can also target individuals,such as political figures or business leaders—such as the aforementioned E.U.and U.S.sanctions on Putin’s allies in March 2014.Enacting this type of sanction is designed to cause financial difficulties for a small set of individuals rather than impacting a country’s population.This type of sanction strategy is most likely to be used when political and economic power is concentrated in the hands of a relatively small group of individuals who have international financial interests.
While countries have used sanctions to coerce or influence the trade policies of others for centuries,trade policy is rarely the sole strategy employed in foreign policy.It can be accompanied by both diplomatic and military actions.A sanction,however,might be a more attractive tool because it imposes an economic cost for a country’s actions rather than a military one.Military conflicts are expensive,resource-intensive,cost lives and can elicit the ire of other nations due to the human suffering caused by violence.
In addition,it is not feasible for a country to react to every political problem with military force:Armies are often not large enough.Moreover,some problems are simply not well-suited for armed intervention.Sanctions are generally used when diplomatic efforts have failed.
Sanctions may be enacted for several reasons,such as a retaliatory measure for another country’s economic activities.They may also be used as a softer tool,especially as a deterrent to human rights abuses(e.g.the U.S.sanctions against apartheid-era South Africa).Sometimes the threat of a sanction is enough to alter the target country’s policies.A threat implies that the country issuing the threat is willing to go through economic hardship to punish the target country if change does not occur.The cost of the threat is less than that of military intervention,but it still carries economic weight.For example,in 2013 Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe and his inner circle were sanctioned by the U.S.because of alleged rights abuses.
The immediate impact of an import sanction on the target country is that the country’s exports are not purchased abroad.Depending on the target country’s economic reliance on the exported good or service,this could have a crippling effect.The sanction might cause the sort of political and economic instability that results in a more totalitarian regime,or it can create a failed state due to a power vacuum.The target country’s suffering is ultimately borne by its citizens,who in times of crisis may solidify the regime in charge rather than overthrow it.A crippled country can be a breeding ground for extremism,which is a scenario that the initiating country would probably prefer not to deal with.
Sanctions may follow the law of unintended consequences.For example,the Organization of Arab Petroleum-Exporting Countries(OAPEC)issued an embargo on oil shipments to the United States in 1973 as a punishment for re-supplying Israel with arms.OAPEC was using the embargo as a tool of foreign policy,but the effects spilled over and exacerbated the worldwide stock market crash of 1973–1974.The inflow of capital from higher oil prices resulted in an arms race in Middle Eastern countries—a destabilizing problem—and did not result in the policy change envisioned by OAPEC.In addition,many embargoed countries cut back on oil consumption and required more efficient use of petroleum products,further cutting demand.
Sanctions can increase costs to consumers and businesses in the countries that issue them,because the target country is unable to purchase goods,resulting in economic loss through unemployment,as well as production loss.In addition,the issuing country will reduce the choice of goods and services that domestic consumers have,and may increase the cost of doing business for companies that must look elsewhere for supplies.If a sanction is made unilaterally,the target country can use a third-party country to circumvent the effect of blocked imports or exports.
(Source:http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/10/economic-sanctions.asp)
Task 1:Reading Comprehension Questions
The following questions are asked based on the above article.Please go back to the article and find the answers.
1.How did the Unite States and Russia sanction each other in March 2014?What impacts did those sanctions have on the two countries?
2.What are the major forms of sanctions?
3.In what ways are sanctions classified?
4.Why does an import sanction create a greater impact than an export sanction?
5.Under what circumstances do sanctions target individuals?
6.Why are economic sanctions viewed as a more attractive strategy than military force in response to political problems?
7.What are the specific goals of applying sanctions?
8.What are the ramifications of an import sanction?
9.Why did the OAPEC’s sanctions against the USA in 1973 fail in its purposes?
10.What are the counter-effects of sanctions that the issuing country has to bear?
Task 2:Paraphrasing
Explain in English the underlined words and expressions in the context of the above article.
1.A sanction is often used as a sort of carrot-and-stick approach to dealing with international trade and politics.In March 2014,for example,in response to the Russian annexation of Crimea,the United States and the European Union froze the American and European assets of members of Vladimir Putin’s“inner circle,”which includes politicians,business leaders and one bank.
2.The impact of Russian sanctions on American politicians was treated humorously:John McCain deadpanned in a March 20th Tweet,“I guess this means my spring break in Siberia is off,Gazprom stock is lost & secret bank account in Moscow is frozen.”
3.While the targeted Russians did not all have foreign assets,they faced financial strain.
4.A country has a number of different types of sanctions at its disposal.Sanctions can take many forms,including tariffs,quotas,embargoes,non-tariff barriers,and asset freezes or seizures.
5.A case in which an export sanction could work is the blocking of sensitive technological knowhow from entering the target country,which finds it harder to create this sort of good in-house.
6.While the goals of sanctions are to force a country to alter its behavior,there is much variation as to how the sanctions are leveled and whom they target.
7.Military conflicts are expensive,resource-intensive,cost lives and can elicit the ire of other nations due to the human suffering caused by violence.
8.Sanctions may be enacted for several reasons,such as a retaliatory measure for another country’s economic activities.They may also be used as a softer tool,especially as a deterrent to human rights abuses(e.g.the U.S.sanctions against apartheid-era South Africa).
9.Depending on the target country’s economic reliance on the exported good or service,this could have a crippling effect.The sanction might cause the sort of political and economic instability that results in a more totalitarian regime,or it can create a failed state due to a power vacuum.
10.A crippled country can be a breeding ground for extremism,which is a scenario that the initiating country would probably prefer not to deal with.
Task 3:Translation
Read the article again and translate it into Chinese.
阅读文章参考译文：
制裁的威力超乎你想象
在处理国际贸易与政治的问题上，制裁通常是一种软硬兼施的手段。例如，2014年3月，为了应对俄罗斯吞并克里米亚这一事件，美国和欧盟冻结了弗拉迪米尔·普京的“亲信们”在欧美的资产，其中包括政界人士、企业巨头和一家银行。作为回应，俄罗斯也制裁了若干美国官员，包括白宫发言人约翰·伯纳、参议院多数党领袖哈里·雷德以及亚利桑那州参议员约翰·麦凯恩。俄罗斯对美国政界人士的制裁看来效果有限，而且还遭到调侃。3月20日，约翰·麦凯恩上推特冷冰冰地说：“我想，这意味着去西伯利亚度春假可能要泡汤了，购买的俄罗斯天然气公司的股票要打水漂了，在莫斯科开立的秘密银行账户也要被冻结了。”
虽然在制裁名单上的俄罗斯人并非人人都有海外资产，但是，他们都会面临资金压力。因为他们都无法进行以美元计价的交易；银行为了避免得罪西方政府，也不愿施以援手；美国的企业更不可能与他们合作。然而，从长远来看，相比于对俄罗斯能源出口欧洲所实行的全面制裁，这些制裁也只不过是小巫见大巫。每年，俄罗斯约有53%的天然气出口欧盟，金额高达240亿美元。
每个国家都掌有许多不同类型的制裁措施。制裁形式可谓五花八门，包括关税、配额、禁运、非关税壁垒以及资产冻结或没收等。尽管一些措施比另外一些更为常用，但是所有的制裁目的一致，那就是迫使对方改变做事方式。
制裁可以按不同的方法进行划分。一种是根据制裁发起国的数目来划分。所谓“单边”制裁是指只有一个国家实施制裁，而“双边”制裁则意味着若干个国家联合实施制裁。制裁的另一种划分是依据制裁所限制的贸易类别。出口制裁是禁止商品流入一国，而进口制裁则是禁止商品流出该国。这两种制裁并不对等，各自带来的经济后果也大相径庭。一般而言，出口制裁没有进口制裁所产生的影响大。但是，当被制裁的目标国难以独立制造某种产品，而此时要阻止相关敏感技术进入该国时，出口制裁则行之有效。
实施进口制裁来禁止目标国的出口，往往会给该国造成巨大的经济负担。例如，2013年7月31日，针对伊朗的核计划，美国通过了H.R.850法案，基本上阻止了伊朗对外出口石油。该法案实施了一年，由于国际制裁，伊朗的石油出口大幅减半。如果其他国家不进口目标国的产品，目标国的经济就会面临产业崩溃、工人失业，这将会给目标国的政府带来巨大的政治压力。
虽说制裁的目的是要改变对方的做事方式，但是，制裁的对象与制裁的轻重在实施中不尽相同。制裁既可以是对目标国实行全面制裁，譬如像美国制裁古巴那样实行全面的出口禁运，也可以是针对特定的行业实施制裁，譬如针对石油武器出售实施禁运。自1979年以来，美国和欧盟一直针对伊朗实行商品和服务的进出口禁运。
制裁的对象也可以是诸如某国政要或企业领袖之类的个人，比如前文所述，2014年3月美国和欧盟对普京的亲信实施的制裁就是其中一例。这类制裁旨在给少数个人制造经济困难，而对该国的其他公民影响甚微。当一国的政治经济实力高度集中在一小撮人的手中，而这些人又拥有海外资产，此时这种类型的制裁最易发生也最能奏效。
虽然一国使用制裁来胁迫或影响他国贸易政策的历史已有数百年，但是，贸易政策绝非外交政策中的唯一策略，相伴而行的还有外交与军事行动。但是，制裁这一工具可能更具吸引力，因为它能使一国为其行为付出的不是军事而是经济代价。军事冲突的代价十分昂贵，不仅劳民伤财，而且还夺人性命，同时，暴力给民众带来的苦难也会激起他国民愤。
此外，对一国而言，以军事力量解决所有的政治问题是不切实际的，因为一国的军队力量毕竟有限。况且，有些问题不适合采用军事干预。一般情况下，当外交努力失败时，制裁会成为首选。
实施制裁的原因众多，比如说对一个国家的经济行为进行报复。制裁也有可能作为一种相对柔和的工具来使用，尤其是用来威慑侵犯人权的行为（例如美国针对南非在种族隔离时期的制裁）。有的时侯，制裁的威慑足以改变目标国的政策。威慑意味着，如果目标国一意孤行，那么，发出威慑的国家宁愿承受经济困难也要惩罚目标国。虽然威慑的成本低于军事干预，但也能发挥经济威力。比如在2013年，津巴布韦的总统罗伯特·穆加贝与他的同僚因为被指控践踏人权，而受到美国的制裁。
对目标国实施进口制裁可以产生立竿见影的效果，造成该国的出口产品在国外没有市场。但是，取决于目标国对出口商品和服务的依赖程度，进口也有可能导致严重后果。制裁可能会引发政治与经济动荡，催生出一个更加严重的极权主义政权，抑或权力的真空会导致无政府状态。目标国的苦难最终会由它的公民来承受，而在危机时刻，这些公民有可能去巩固而非推翻当朝政府。一个遍体鳞伤的国家很容易滋生极端主义，而一旦发生，制裁发起国有可能选择袖手旁观。
制裁还会产生意想不到的后果。例如，1973年阿拉伯石油输出国组织颁布了一条对美国实施石油出口的禁令，以惩罚美国再次给以色列提供武器。该组织把禁运只是作为外交政策的一个工具，但禁运的影响不断蔓延，加剧了1973—1974年的全球股市危机。高油价带来的资金流入，导致了中东国家之间的军备竞赛，产生了不稳定的因素，并未实现阿拉伯石油输出国组织的初衷。此外，许多在禁运名单上的国家不仅减少了石油消费，而且还要求国民更有效地使用石油产品，因此进一步降低了对石油的需求。
制裁会给发起国的消费者和企业增加成本。首先，由于目标国不能购买发起国的产品，因此会导致发起国失业，带来生产和经济损失。其次，制裁发起国的国内消费者在产品和服务的种类上的选择会减少，同时企业的经营成本还会增加，因为企业必须去寻找新的供应渠道。如果制裁是单边的，那么，目标国可以利用第三方国家来规避进出口封锁所带来的影响。