美英兩國政府於 5 月 8 日宣布貿易協議2025 二戰勝利紀念日

 

Joel來談日本

美英兩國政府於 5 月 8 日宣布，雙方已就關稅問題達成通商協議。這是川普總統主導的一系列貿易談判中首項達成協議的案例。美國將對英國進口車輛提供稅率優惠，作為交換，英國將擴大進口美國農產品、機械與波音飛機。儘管協議完成迅速，不過還是有部分細節尚未完善。

協議公布當天正值二戰勝利紀念日，川普強調「與英國的關係是特別的」。根據協議，美方對其他國家進口車課徵的 25% 追加關稅，將對英國車輛設下年 10 萬輛的低稅率配額，稅率調降至 10%，此舉對英國仰賴出口的汽車產業是一大利多。英方則將透過關稅下調等措施擴大進口美國牛肉與工業用乙醇，並計劃採購約 100 億美元波音飛機。川普稱美國對英出口將增加 50 億美元。

然而，這項協議尚未形成完整文件，川普表示未來數週內將針對細節進行補強。英方宣稱美方將對其鋼鐵與鋁製品開放免稅進口配額，但美方僅表示「仍在協商替代方案」，顯示部分關鍵議題仍存分歧。

對川普來說，這次協議不僅有外交象徵意義，更意在展示談判成果，並從其他貿易對手國獲得讓步。但對日本而言，協議的內容卻帶來了不安的訊號。雖然日方長期盼望美國對其汽車關稅進行減免，川普卻明言：「不會用汽車作為交易籌碼」，表示這項稅收優惠僅限英國。

川普舉英國 Rolls-Royce 為例，稱其屬於高級、限量生產車輛，加徵高額關稅也無法促使其轉向美國生產，因此可予以特殊待遇。他強調英國車企規模與日本每年向美出口逾 130 萬輛的大眾車無可比擬，對日本開放低稅率配額會導致韓國、德國等國紛紛仿效，恐削弱整體關稅政策的效力。

此外，協議對日本而言可能也樹立了「不利前例」：川普推行「對等關稅」政策，針對幾乎所有貿易夥伴一律課徵 10% 的基本關稅，即使與英國這樣的「特殊關係國」也未予免除。這凸顯該稅率的核心目的在於籌措財源，特別是在「川普減稅」即將於年底到期、亟需延長的當下。英國能獲得的優惠有限，各國如果想在談判中取得更大利益，恐需提出超越英國的讓步。

參考資料：朝日新聞

施紀賢爵士（基爾·斯塔默；Sir Keir Starmer）： 不認為跨性別女性是女性

 

BBC News 中文（繁體）

英國首相施紀賢爵士（基爾·斯塔默；Sir Keir Starmer）的發言人表示，首相並不認為跨性別女性是女性。

英國最高法院上週裁定，法律上「女性」的定義應以生理性別為依據。法官表示，跨性別者仍依法享有反歧視的保護，但強調「性別的概念是二元的」。

2022年3月，時任反對黨領袖的施紀賢曾對《泰晤士報》表示：「跨性別女性也是女人。這不僅是我的看法，這實際上是法律規定。」

但在被問及施紀賢是否仍認為跨性別女性是女性時，首相發言人表示：「不，最高法院的判決已經明確，根據《平等法》，女性是指生理上的女性。」

保守黨領袖栢丹娜（凱米·巴德諾赫；Kemi Badenoch）指責政府對判決的反應出現大轉彎，並指責工黨閣僚需要最高法院來指導他們如何看待問題。

當被問及首相此前為何改變主意時，發言人稱工黨政府一直以來的立場是一致的，包括堅持認為單一性別場所「受到法律保護」。

週二早些時候，施紀賢對最高法院的判決表示歡迎，稱其為制定指導方針提供了「迫切需要的明確性」。

該裁決意味著，跨性別男性或女性應該使用與其生理性別相符的設施，例如出生時為男性但認同自己是女性的人無權使用僅限女性的空間或服務。

平等和人權委員會（EHRC）也表示，根據該裁決，跨性別女性不得參加女子運動。

跨性別權益倡導者表示，他們將密切審視該判決，以決定下一步行動方向。他們可能會嘗試向政府施壓，促使其修改《平等法》。

更多新聞：bbc.com/chinese

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倫敦地鐵榮譽制 (ChungChih Li)

 

ChungChih Li

我第一次到英國是2006，我覺得倫敦地鐵實在超貴，如果沒記錯，4英鎊。我只要坐幾站，但沒辦法。買票後入站，沒有柵欄或人員驗票，出站也沒。我以為我錯過了什麼，也有了點壞心眼，想說這次讓我逃過，雖不是故意的，但說不定這張票可以再用一次。實在好奇，就攔了個人問，人家一看就知道你是外地人，很客氣地說，不用檢查，如過你想留紀念，指向一個小檯子，說那邊可以蓋章，每站應該都有。當下很感動，這是一個有辦法實施榮譽制的社會。又花了很多4英鎊來來去去，心甘情願。

2012第二度到英國開會，全改了，一排看起來還頗新的自動驗票口，雖然孰悉到理所當然，但英國紳士淑女的榮譽制這裡顯然也不行了，出了維多利亞站，不難看出為什麼。所有心：

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Not Time’s Fool: A Rare Version of a Shakespeare Sonnet Is Discovered

Not Time’s Fool: A Rare Version of a Shakespeare Sonnet Is Discovered

An Oxford researcher found a rare, handwritten variation of one of Shakespeare’s most famous love poems. About 400 years ago, its meaning might have been very different.


“Shakespeare has always been political,” Professor Shapiro said, adding, “People repurposed it in their own day — as in ours — for different political ends.”

This variation — which has a different opening, ending and seven additional lines — reads more as a celebration of political loyalty than romantic love. It may come from one of the greatest upheavals in British history: A fight between royalists (who supported the monarchy) and parliamentarians (who did not). For a brief period, Britain was not ruled by a monarch.

Much suggests that the newly discovered version was a royalist adaptation.

Dr. Veronese discovered the variant in the papers of Elias Ashmole, a supporter of the monarchy who was born in 1617 — the year after Shakespeare died. It was among other politically charged works, which included banned Christmas carols and satirical poems from the 1640s. And it had been set to music by the composer Henry Lawes, which can be found in the New York Public Library.

That alone would have been rebellious: The Republican regime banned the public performance of songs, Oxford said in a news release published on Monday.

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“What was once a kind of erotic, playful love poem,” Professor Shapiro said, had “been repurposed to speak to people in the midst of a civil war — in which their loved ones are fighting and dying.”

Consider the opening lines of “Sonnet 116”:


Let me not to the marriage of true minds

admit impediments; love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds …

The nod to “marriage” might be why it’s a favorite at weddings, said Prof. Michael Dobson, the director of the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon, who was not involved in the discovery. But the commitment to loving someone forever, just as they are, also resonates.

“It makes an implausible vow of eternal constancy, which is what marriages are all about,” said Professor Dobson, who has “love’s not time’s fool” etched into his wedding band.

The opening of the variation reads as much more righteous — almost scolding — instead of musing.


Self blinding error seize all those minds

Who with false appellations call that love

Which alters when it alterations finds …

Practically, the additional lines were added to create more singable verses, according to Oxford. But in the context of the civil wars, the Oxford release said, “the additional lines could also be read as an appeal toward religious and political loyalty.”

Could the self-blinding error have been the push to leave the monarchy behind? Are the parliamentarians the minds who were making such false appeals?

Professor Dobson noted that the language of devotion is often similar, whether applied to love or politics. “You know: ‘my king — right or wrong — I will die a royalist,’” he said, describing both versions as odes to “eternal, quixotic constancy.”

He said it was not clear whether the poem was a copy of a draft written by Shakespeare or an adaptation written by someone else.

Either way, the discovery shows how Shakespeare’s work found life in the years after his death. For Shakespeare scholars, it suggests that the sonnets had more sticking power than many had once thought.

Shakespeare’s sonnets were published in 1609. The collection barely sold, Professor Dobson said, noting, “The printed copy of Shakespeare’s sonnets was probably Shakespeare’s biggest flop.”

A 1640 version — altered to expunge hints of a male lover — barely caused a ripple. In fact, he said, the sonnets did not become popular until the late 1700s, when interest surged in the bard’s life and Romanticism reigned.

Some scholars had thought that, for the first two centuries, the sonnets were all but forgotten. The new discovery suggests otherwise, Professor Dobson said. “At least one person thought this was a worthwhile piece of work.”

Perhaps, the variation is a sign of what may be Shakespeare’s greatest constant: change. So even if love, at least in “Sonnet 116,” is “an ever-fixèd mark,” the author himself is not.

That, it seems, has always been his power, from the Royalist gatherings of 1600s Britain to the political fights and wedding speeches of today.

美國總統川普加徵關稅【躲得過的英國，躲不過的歐盟】

 

DW 中文 - 德國之聲

【躲得過的英國，躲不過的歐盟】

美國總統川普上週末宣布對墨西哥、加拿大和中國加徵關稅，並表示對歐盟加徵關稅「肯定會發生」，引發了人們對可能破壞經濟增長並推高消費者成本的貿易戰的擔憂。

當被問及英國是否會成為下一個被徵收關稅的國家時，川普表示：「我們將看看事情如何發展。可能會發生在他們身上，但我可以告訴你，這肯定會發生在歐盟身上。」

他補充說：「英國已經越界了。我們會看看……但歐盟真的非常出格。英國有些越界，但我認為這個問題可以解決。但歐盟的所作所為堪稱惡行（atrocity）。」

英國政府發言人回應稱，美國是不可或缺的盟友和密切的貿易夥伴。

「我們有一個公平和平衡的貿易關係，這對大西洋兩岸都有好處。」發言人說。

英國首相施凱爾及其內閣成員自川普當選以來一直稱讚他，強調英國從美國進口了大量商品，並希望在英國經濟已經難以增長的情況下可以避免關稅。

由於兩國統計機構的方法差異，英國和美國都報告了彼此之間的貿易順差。

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