What do goldfish have to do with the global trade balance?
金鱼和全球贸易平衡有什么关系吗？ 
By Stephanie Bailey and Lidz-Ama Appiah / August 26, 2019
翻译：Ray︱校对：Sally
That's a question that has Ken Fischer reeling. He sells rare goldfish. And goldfish — the live pet, not the snack food — are tucked in on page 31 of list three of Chinese imports that face tariffs of 25%.
这是一个让肯·费舍尔心烦意乱的问题。他卖稀有的金鱼。金鱼 — 活的宠物，而不是食品 — 被列在中国进口商品第三项清单的第31页，面临25%的关税。reeling：感到心烦意乱tariffs：关税
"My income is literally cut in half by tariffs," Fischer says. As a U.S. importer of a Chinese good, he is the one on the hook to pay the tariff.费舍尔说：“我的收入实际上被关税削减了一半。作为一个进口中国商品的美国进口商，他是那些被牢牢拴住的要缴纳关税的人。
Goldfish are among hundreds of products caught in the wide net cast by the Trump administration's trade war with China. The countries reached "phase one" of a trade deal on Friday, averting a new tariff increase that had been slated to kick in this week. Yet, the tentative truce doesn't undo existing tariffs. The White House has argued that reeling in Chinese imports would, among other things, also lure back jobs and factories to America.金鱼是特朗普政府与中国的贸易战中所涉及的数百种产品之一。两个国家上周五达成了一项贸易协议的“第一阶段”，从而避免了原定本周启动的新一轮关税上调。然而，暂时休战并没有取消现有的关税。白宫辩称，除此之外，在中国进口商品费尽周折，将增加就业机会并把工作机会吸引回美国。 averting：防止，避免tentative：不确定的truce：休战
For aquarium goldfish, China is not simply a source, but a motherland. There, goldfish have been bred over centuries into forms so varied and unusual that some enthusiasts and aquarists consider them a living art form.对于鱼缸饲养的金鱼来说，中国不仅仅是一个源头，而且还是一个发源地。在那里，金鱼已经被培育了几个世纪，形成了多种多样和不寻常的形态，一些爱好者和水族专业人士认为他们是一个活的艺术形式。
Prices for high-quality grown fish can run $125 to $300 on average. Fischer says he has sold higher-end specimen for over $1,000. Most pet stores will carry some cheaper but still fancy types like orandas with raspberry-like growths atop their heads.优质成年金鱼的价格平均可以达到125至300美元。菲舍尔说，他曾以超过1000美元的价格出售了高端品种。大多数宠物店都会出售一些便宜但仍然很好看的观赏鱼，比如头顶有树莓般生长的orandas。
In 2018, the U.S. bought more than $1.2 million worth of live ornamental freshwater fish from China, according to trade data from the U.S. Census Bureau. This covers goldfish and related crucian carp.美国统计局的贸易数据显示，2018年，美国从中国购买了价值120多万美元的观赏淡水活鱼。这包括金鱼和其他观赏鱼。ornamental：装饰性的，观赏的census:统计
But Fischer gets frustrated by a comparison to another number: The U.S. trade deficit last year soared to a 10-year high of $621 billion.但与另一个数字相比，菲舍尔就感到沮丧：美国去年的贸易逆差飙升至6210亿美元的10年高点。trade deficit：贸易逆差
"A small niche business like mine shouldn't be part of the equation," he says. The U.S. Trade Representative's office did not comment on why the government decided otherwise.他说：“像我这样的小众企业不应该成为平衡的一部分。”美国贸易代表办公室没有就政府做出决定给出什么更多的解释。niche：小众市场，缝隙市场
There are goldfish breeders in other countries, including the U.S., but "the selection is still pretty limited because here in the U.S. we just don't have nearly the availability of the exotic breed," says Meredith Clawson, long-time goldfish keeper and author on the hobby.包括美国在内的其他国家也有金鱼养殖者，但“选择仍然相当有限，因为在美国，我们几乎没有外来品种，”长期从事金鱼饲养和这项爱好的著书者梅雷迪思·克劳森说。
"For fancy goldfish enthusiasts like me, the rare ones can only be gotten in places like China," Clawson says.克劳森说：“对于像我这样的金鱼爱好者来说，只有在中国这样的地方才能买到稀有的金鱼。” 
"Our options are either to sell these fish at a loss or not fill the product for the stores," says Joe Hiduke, sales manager at Florida-based wholesaler 5D Tropical. “in which case — we are evaluated very regularly on our fill rate, and if the fill rate suffers, then we potentially are losing more business than just those goldfish."位于佛罗里达州的批发商“5D热带产品”的销售经理乔·希杜克说：“我们的选择是要么亏本出售这些鱼，要么不为商店补货。在这种情况下，我们会定期对补货率进行评估，如果补货率受到影响，那么我们可能失去的业务就不仅仅是那些金鱼。”
Hiduke's company sells fish to stores that include large U.S. pet chains. Hiduke says he can pass on some costs to distributors and retailers, but 5D Tropical has contract obligations with larger chains that reassess what fish to stock and how much to charge only about once a year.希杜克的公司向包括大型美国宠物连锁店在内的商店出售鱼。希杜克说，他可以将一些成本转嫁给经销商和零售商，但他们公司与大型的连锁店签订了合同，每年只能一次重新评估库存种类和如何收费。
In a statement, PetSmart said the company was evaluating the tariffs and strategies to deal with them, working with partners to "manage the potential impact." A spokeswoman for rival Petco told NPR that the company was "not aware of any impact on the price or availability of goldfish at Petco related to tariffs."Petsmart在一份声明中表示，该公司正在评估关税和应对关税的策略，并与合作伙伴合作“管理潜在影响”。竞争对手Petco的一位发言人告诉NPR，该公司“没发现关税对Petco的金鱼价格或供应的任何影响。” 
For Fischer, the uncertainty of the trade war — so often decried by corporate CEOs and trade groups — has become a matter of livelihood.对费舍尔来说，贸易战的不确定性——企业CEO和贸易集团经常谴责这种不确定性——已经成为一个民生问题。decried：谴责，批评
When he stopped importing goldfish to avoid tariffs, Fischer shut down his business for a few months. He hadn't had a break in a while, and he hoped that the tariffs would go away. They didn't. And he couldn't afford to stay closed.当菲舍尔为了避开关税而停止进口金鱼时，他关闭了自己的生意达几个月。他已经有一段时间没有休息了，他希望关税能够取消。但是没有。而且他也承受不了总不营业。 
"So I went ahead and bit the bullet and I just paid $10,000 (in tariffs) on a $40,000 shipment of fish, so that I could continue trying to make a living," Fischer says. "But the numbers aren't adding up."菲舍尔说：“所以我就咬紧牙关开门了，我刚花了1万美元（关税）买了4万美元的一批鱼，这样我就可以继续努力生存。但我却入不敷出。” 
He says he can't easily raise prices — there's a lot of competition, and ultimately, fancy goldfish are a luxury. So he's spinning his wheels, as he puts it, trying to decide when to cut bait.他说，他不能轻易涨价——竞争非常激烈，说到底，昂贵的金鱼是奢侈品。所以他在碰他的运气，正如他所说，要试着决定什么时候放弃。 
 
 翻译：Ray︱校对：Sally

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