Unit 1 International trade.pptVIP

主讲教师： Introduction 本课程是国际贸易专业高年级的核心业务课程之一，是一门将英语与国际商务活动相结合的课程。本课通过进行当今国际商务领域的热点文章阅读，介绍对外贸易各环节的具体做法，介绍各种英文业务函件以及其它方式的写作格式，商业术语和各种不同的表达方法，使学生在提高英语阅读和写作水平的同时，熟练掌握国际商务活动中常用的基本术语及表达技能，培养和提高他们参与国际商务活动的能力。 Contents Establish Business Relations Status Enquiries Enquiries and Offers Orders and Acknowledgements Packing Transport Insurance Payment Claims and Adjustment Comprehensive reading Business letter writing Chapter One International Trade Contents Reading 1 English Letter Writing TRADE-WATCHERS often look to the oceans to gauge activity. Bustling docks and harbours mean importers and exporters are busy, and trade figures are likely to be strong. Empty quays are ominous. At the end of 2011 data from big ports started to turn choppy, fuelling fears of a slowdown that has come to pass. The OECD reports that exports fell by over 4% in the second quarter of 2012 in Britain and India; Russia and South Africa lost more than 8%. That is particularly bad news for places like Singapore and Hong Kong, which are important trade hubs (see chart 1); open euro-zone countries like Ireland and Belgium are also highly exposed. International trade Boxed in Global trade has turned down sharply this year. The outlook is pretty bleak too. 2012.9.8 The obvious cause of falling trade is the global economic slowdown. Since exports are sales to foreigners, they tend to weaken when buying power is low. That means trade often tracks global GDP quite closely. At a more granular level, too, the patterns of trade match the fortunes of economies. Since 2011, imports into the stagnant European Union have fallen by 4.5%. In contrast the oil-rich Middle East has increased imports by 7.4%. If the global economy were the only factor in determining trade, a pick-up in world output would translate automatically into rising trade. The IMF, for example, thinks that trade will grow by 5.1% in 2013 on the back of a strengthening economy. But the fund’s predictions ass