108年 - 108 高等考試_三級_新聞（選試英文）、新聞（選試日文）：新聞英文#77762

 TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- A small township in western Taiwan has suddenly found itself flooded with an order for 600 million socks after U.S. President Trump announced that he was raising tariffs on a broad spectrum of consumer products from China earlier this month.

 On May 14, Trump announced that he would raise tariffs on US$200 billion worth of goods made in China from 10 percent to 25 percent. The list of items covered by the tariffs included everything from agricultural and livestock products. Major shoe brands which sell to the U.S. market such as Nike and Adidas issued an open letter to Trump warning that increased costs would be passed on to consumers because 70 percent of shoes imported into the U.S. come from China.

 Behind the scenes, however, bills of lading have started to flood into other countries, including Taiwan. Just a week after Trump announced the new tariffs, an order was placed for 300 million pairs of socks for manufacturers in the tiny township of Shetou in Changhua County, reported CommonWealth Magazine.

 The township of Shetou, with a population of only 40,000, is so well known for its sock factories that a local saying goes, “There are three things in abundance in Shetou: guavas, socks, and chairmen.” In its heyday, the township churned out tens of billions of Taiwan dollars worth of socks. 

 However, in recent years, a free trade agreement between the U.S. and South Korea and competition from China started to squeeze out local manufacturers. Fortunately, it appears that the intensifying trade war between the U.S. and China is giving sockmakers in Shetou a new lease on life. 

 Wei Ping-i（魏平儀）, chairman of the Taiwan Hosiery Manufacturers’ Association, told CommonWealth Magazine that he received an order from a trading company last week asking for 300 million pairs of socks for the U.S. market, which had originally been meant for producers in China. The customer is desperately looking for manufacturers outside of China and Taiwan is one the countries they are looking to now, said Wei. 

 Wei excitedly told the magazine, “Although Taiwan may no longer be the cheapest, it still has strong production and distribution capabilities. The 300 million socks can be entirely eaten [produced] by Taiwan.” Wei added that because none of his association members have investments in China, they are actually able to benefit from the U.S.-China trade war.

 US lawmakers introduced a bill on Wednesday to force Chinese companies listed on US stock exchanges so as to submit to regulatory oversight, for national security purposes. Chinese authorities have long been reluctant to allow overseas regulators to inspect local accounting firms — including member firms of the Big Four international accounting networks — citing national security concerns. In spite of a 2013 agreement that ended a stalemate over the issue and allowed US regulators to request audit working papers in China, there have been difficulties in actually gaining access. At least two Hong Kong-based audit firms have been barred from auditing US-listed companies, because they could not produce the papers US regulators asked for. “Beijing should no longer be allowed to shield US-listed Chinese companies from complying with American laws and regulations for financial transparency and accountability,” Republican US Senator Marco Rubio said in a statement. Last year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board issued a warning to investors about the difficulties US regulators faced in inspecting the audit work and practices of auditing firms in China that examine US-listed Chinese companies. There are 156 US-listed Chinese companies with a combined market capitalization of US$1.2 trillion, including oil and gas giant China Petroleum & Chemical Corp（中國石油化工）and Alibaba Group Holding（阿里巴巴）. “It’s time for China’s government to play by the same rules as American companies in our financial markets,” Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat who cosponsored the bill, said on Tuesday. 

 英國 4 月經濟萎縮，英國國家統計局周一表示，4 月份經濟產值萎縮 0.4%， 創 2016 年 3 月份以來最大月度跌幅，因為汽車製造商在原定脫歐日期 前後幾周採取了關閉工廠的預防措施。

 該數據顯示，隨着英國脫歐的不確定性上升，今年開局表現強勁的英國 經濟在第二季度放緩。受脫歐條款問題的政治內鬥影響，英國脫歐日期 已經兩次延遲，目前暫訂為 10 月 31 日。 

 經濟萎縮受製造業拖累。當月汽車產量下滑 24%，因為主要製造商將定 期停產維護的時間改到 3 月 29 日前後，也就是原定的英國脫歐日期。 停產意在防範突然脫歐可能造成的任何生產中斷。