2004年news broadcast 2-英语听力

[00:00.59]The European Union has drafted a list of US products to be hit with import taxes in retaliation [00:09.11]for tariffs the United States has imposed on European steel. [00:14.38]EU member governments will review the list before the EU submits it to the World Trade Organization, [00:21.86]which arbitrates international trade disputes. [00:25.50]EU officials will not say which American products will be hit by the EU sanctions. [00:31.63]But diplomats monitoring the most recent trans-Atlantic trade dispute say they include textiles and steel products. [00:40.58]Earlier this month, the Bush administration imposed tariffs of up to 30 percent on some steel imports, [00:48.37]including European products. [00:50.95]The EU has appealed to the World Trade Organization to get those duties overturned. [00:57.17]But a WTO decision on the matter could take up to a year or more. [01:02.66]EU officials say that, under WTO rules, the EU has the right to impose retaliatory measures in June. [01:11.93]But they say the United States can avoid the EU's possible countermeasures [01:17.19]if it pays more than two billion dollars in compensation to the EU for imposing the steel tariffs in the first place. [01:25.57]The officials say Washington could also escape retaliation by lowering US import duties on other EU products. [01:34.67]The Bush administration says it will not pay compensation.