Leader_Japan’s plea for clarity on Brexit for business
FT社评：英国政府须就退欧消除企业担心
广州英语翻译公司：日本呼吁英国保持单一市场准入也许只是个愿望，但日方提出的问题对于英国企业同样紧迫，这些问题将需要答案。
After the initial shock of Britain’s vote to leave the EU, businesses and consumers appear to be regaining their composure. In the aftermath of the referendum, indicators of economic activity plunged to their lowest levels since the global financial crisis.
经历过英国脱欧公投的最初震惊后，企业和消费者似乎正在恢复镇静。在公投过后那段期间，各项经济活动指标跌至全球金融危机以来最低水平。广州英语翻译公司。
With a new government in place and a fresh injection of monetary stimulus, both manufacturing and the services sectors have bounced back. Retail spending and house prices have held up. Although the weaker pound will feed inflation and eat into household budgets, it now looks more likely Britain will escape the Brexit-induced recession that many had feared.
随着新政府就位，随着新的货币刺激注入，制造业和服务业都出现反弹。零售消费和房价保持得不错。虽然疲软的英镑将助推通胀，侵蚀家庭预算，但目前看来英国更有可能将会逃脱许多人曾经担心的退欧引发的衰退。
This resilience is a great relief, but it is little guide to the long-term health of the economy. The UK’s ability to prosper outside the EU depends primarily on whether companies see it as stable environment to do business and can be confident of a return on their investments. The strong warning delivered by Japan’s government, detailing the concerns of Japanese businesses operating in the UK, shows how challenging it will be for Theresa May, prime minister, to provide such reassurance.
这种恢复力是一大安慰，但并不预示经济的长期健康。英国在欧盟之外实现繁荣的能力，主要取决于企业是否将其看做可以做生意的稳定环境，以及是否确信它们的投资能取得回报。日本政府发出的强烈警告——详述了日本在英经营企业的担心——显示了英国首相特里萨•梅(Theresa May)要提供这样的保证将面临多大挑战。广州英语翻译公司。
The point Tokyo most wants to impress on the UK and EU is the need to lessen the uncertainty. Japanese businesses dread the prospect of endless behind-the-scenes negotiations, leading to unpleasant last-minute surprises. Their plea is for clarity on the process and time for the transition. This is eminently reasonable but, given the EU’s record of eleventh-hour backroom deals, somewhat optimistic.
日本政府最想让英国和欧盟“听懂”的一点是要减少不确定性。日本企业害怕未来无穷无尽的幕后谈判，在最后时刻出现令人不快的意外。他们请求在过渡的过程和时间上得到一点清晰度。这合情合理，但鉴于欧盟在最后一刻幕后交易方面的过往记录，有点期望过高了。
The substance of the Japanese memo, however, is a clear and rigorous exposition of the concerns that businesses have about Brexit, and the questions ministers will have to answer to give companies confidence to invest.
不过日本这份备忘录的内容明确而严谨地阐述了企业对英国退欧的担心，以及为了让企业有信心投资，英国的部长级官员必须回答的问题。广州英语翻译公司。
It is no surprise that tariffs on trade in goods come high on the list. They are a particular concern for manufacturers whose supply chains stretch across the EU, which could face levies on both the parts and raw materials they import and on the finished goods they export.
并不令人意外的是，货物贸易的关税列在清单上的最高位。对于供应链遍及欧盟的制造商来说，这是个尤为令人担忧的问题，他们可能既面临零部件和原材料进口关税，又面临制成品出口关税。
Yet this is just the first in a catalogue of concerns. Manufacturers worry that their products will no longer meet the EU’s rules of origin, subjecting them to more onerous customs procedures and excluding them from free-trade agreements between the EU and other countries. Service providers ask whether a licence issued in the UK will still be valid elsewhere in the EU. IT businesses fear cross-border data transfers will become difficult if the UK adopts its own rules on data protection. Banks worry about the “passporting” of financial services and the gradual divergence of regulatory regimes.
不过这仅是担心目录中的第一项。制造商担心他们的产品不再符合欧盟原产地规则，导致他们面临更繁重的海关手续，而且被排除出欧盟与其他国家之间的自由贸易协定。服务提供商想知道英国颁发的许可证在欧盟其他国家是否仍然有效。IT企业担心，如果英国出台自己的数据保护规则，跨境数据转移将变得困难。银行业担心金融服务的“护照特权”，以及监管制度逐渐分化。广州英语翻译公司。
All employers worry about impending controls on immigration, and what this will mean for hiring and for existing staff, be they high-skilled professionals or construction workers.
所有雇主都担心即将来临的移民控制，以及这对聘用员工以及现有员工——无论他们是高技能专业人士或是建筑工人——意味着什么。
This is the issue on which Mrs May has been most forthcoming as she begins to sketch out the parameters for negotiations with Brussels, ruling out the adoption of a points-based immigration system some Brexit supporters advocate. Yet it is far from clear that her preferred approach would be “softer”, or any more compatible with continued access to the single market.
在特里萨•梅着手草拟与布鲁塞尔谈判的参数之际，她在这个问题上相对最为直截了当，排除了部分脱欧阵营人士主张的计分制移民制度。然而远非清楚的是，她的首选方案会不会“更软”，或者说更符合保持单一市场准入的要求。
It is to be hoped that she will recognise the real needs of employers facing a period of unprecedented uncertainty. Japan’s “requests” to the UK and EU, which amount to a plea to maintain the fullest market access possible, may be little more than a wishlist. But the questions it has raised are as pressing for UK businesses as they are for foreign investors; and they will require answers. The Japanese memo serves to articulate the scale and complexity of the task that lies ahead.
希望她能认识到面对一段空前不确定时期的雇主的真切需要。日本对英国和欧盟的“请求”——相当于呼吁保持尽可能全面的市场准入——也许只是个愿望清单。但它所提出的问题对于英国企业和外国投资者同样紧迫，这些问题将需要答案。日本政府的这份备忘录起到了明确表达前方任务的规模和复杂性的作用。
