American cars have bigger bumpers than European ones. That may sound like a trivial detail but it, and others like it, have big ramifications for diplomats charged with negotiating a trade agreement between the US and the EU. Opening up markets once meant removing barriers that protected domestic producers from foreign competition. Authorities in Europe and America have given the impression that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is just another trade agreement of that kind. In fact, the proposed agreement is a different beast.
美國汽車的保險杠比歐洲汽車的保險杠大。這聽上去或許是一個無關(guān)緊要的小細(xì)節(jié)，但對于負(fù)責(zé)談判一項美歐貿(mào)易協(xié)定的外交官們而言，諸如此類的問題有著重要意義。開放市場曾經(jīng)意味著消除壁壘，這些壁壘旨在保護本國生產(chǎn)商免受外國競爭的威脅。目前歐美當(dāng)局給人的印象是，《跨大西洋貿(mào)易與投資伙伴關(guān)系協(xié)定》(TTIP)也是這樣一種協(xié)議。實際上，這項擬議的協(xié)定屬于另一種類型。