商務禮節美語第41期:國際認證(2)
Chris向一家香港公司的老闆Hank 和部門主管Rebecca介紹申請國際認證的程序。首先是安全，其中還有防範恐怖襲擊的要求。老闆Hank表示不解。
C: Well, after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, all the rules and regulations have become much stricter. If you ship a container to the United States, it could possibly be used by bad guys to send dangerous materials.
R: So what kind of precautions do we need to take?
C: You need to have a 24-hour surveillance and alarm system set up, and the doors and gates should be monitored by guards to make sure only those who should be in the factory are in the factory.
H: That's pretty reasonable and I think we can handle that.
Chris解釋說，九一一恐怖襲擊事件發生後，保安方面的要求嚴格了很多。要得到國際認證，需要安裝全天候的監視和警報系統，24-hour surveillance and alarm system; 門口需要警衛站崗。老闆Hank覺得。這些要求很合理，pretty reasonable, 公司完全可以做到。We can handle that. Chris繼續說，
C: OK, let's move on to the next point: treatment of workers.
H: You know, I don't mean to be rude, but why do U.S. companies need to know how we treat our workers? That's an internal affair, isn't it?
C: I can understand your frustration, but nowadays it's a big issue. A few years ago, many activist groups began targeting the big American retailers. They demanded that the big sellers prove that the cheap items they are selling weren't made by child laborers or through other unethical practices.
除去安全保障措施外，還有工人待遇的問題。Hank不明白，自己公司的事情，internal affair，美國公司爲什麼要插手。Chris解釋說，這是因爲幾年前，一些人權活動團體開始針對美國一些主要零售商家，要求他們證明，自己出售的廉價商品，沒有使用童工child laborers, 也沒有其它unethical practices不正當的做法。
R: So now any company that sells to the big retailers has to prove they are above board?
C: Yep. And it's not just America. When you sell to Europe you have to do the same thing—in fact, the European laws are even stricter!
H: Well, I guess I can understand their position, but it is quite a hassle.
R: Yeah, but it's worth it. As soon as we're certified we can sell our goods all across Europe and the U.S.
因此，現在凡是這些美國零售商的供貨商家，都必須證明，They are above board. 他們的經營方式是光明正大的。雖然申請國際認證很麻煩，it is quite a hassle. 可是Rebecca覺得值，it's worth it. 因爲有了國際認證，跟美國和歐洲公司做生意就可以暢通無阻了。
