美國官員警告稱2018年美將加速出臺貿易舉措
美國政府的重要成員警告稱，為了防止其眼中世界各地不公平的貿易行為，美國政府準備加強應對措施，但他們否認這代表美國正滑向新形式的、可能會損害整體經濟的“保護主義”。
Speaking in Davos, Steven Mnuchin, Treasury secretary, told the Financial Times that he “absolutely” expected to see an acceleration of trade measures during 2018, and said the administration was tightly co-ordinated in pursuing tougher trade policies.
在達沃斯(Davos)發(fā)表講話的美國財政部長史蒂文•姆努欽(Steven Mnuchin)告訴英國《金融時報》，他“絕對”認為2018年美國會加速出臺貿易舉措。他還表示，在推行更嚴厲貿易政策方面，美國政府協(xié)調一心。
“The president has been very clear that where there are big trade imbalances, we want that addressed and fixed,” he said. “In this administration, we have excellent co-ordination on this issue . . . This is a policy issue the president is very focused on.”
“總統(tǒng)非常明確地表態(tài)，如果出現嚴重貿易失衡，我們希望能處理和解決。”他說，“在本屆政府中，我們在這個問題上是高度協(xié)調的……這是總統(tǒng)非常關注的一個政策問題。”
At the same time, Wilbur Ross, the US commerce secretary, warned that some big trade initiatives launched in 2017 “will come to fruition” in 2018.
與此同時，美國商務部長威爾伯•羅斯(Wilbur Ross)警告稱，2017年推出的一些重大貿易舉措將在2018年“結出碩果”。
The Trump administration faces deadlines for presidential action in the weeks ahead on national security investigations into imports of aluminium and steel and a wide-ranging probe of China’s intellectual property regime that many in Washington expect to lead to further tariffs and a crackdown on Chinese investment. This week it imposed its first major tariffs on imports of solar cells and washing machines.
在接下來幾周，美國總統(tǒng)需要在若干截止日期前，就有關鋁材和鋼材進口的國家安全調查、以及對中國知識產權制度的廣泛調查采取行動。華盛頓的許多人士預計，其結果將是美國出臺更多關稅并打壓中國投資。本周，美國政府開征了其首批重要關稅，對象是進口太陽能電池和進口洗衣機。
However, both cabinet members vehemently denied that the US government’s policies had become isolationist, arguing that the administration aimed to reform a global trading system which it viewed as becoming increasingly dysfunctional.
然而，這兩位內閣成員都斷然否認美國政府的政策正朝著孤立主義傾斜，他們稱美國政府的目的是改革在其看來日益失靈的全球貿易體系。
“We don’t even like to use the word ‘protectionism’ . . . We don’t use that word,” said Mr Mnuchin. “This is not about protectionism. This is about free and fair reciprocal trade. Anybody who wants to do trade with us on reciprocal terms is welcome to do so.”
“我們根本不喜歡用“保護主義”這個詞……我們不用這個詞。”姆努欽說，“這與保護主義無關，而是關乎自由和公平的互惠貿易。我們歡迎任何想與我們進行互惠貿易的人。”
Mr Ross insisted that the campaign for reform was already bearing fruit, even inside the World Trade Organization.
羅斯堅稱，改革貿易體系的行動已經取得成效，甚至在世界貿易組織(WTO)內部也是如此。
“It’s an old system, decades old. The world has changed, the economies have changed. The pecking order of countries has changed. Everything has changed. The WTO has not really modified its role. It needs to be updated, at best.”
“這是一個老體系，有幾十年歷史了。世界變了，經濟變了，各國的座次變了，一切都變了。WTO真的沒有調整好其角色。即使往好了說，它也需要更新。”
He argued that there was rising agreement around the world on the need for reform. “You can’t solve a problem if you don’t acknowledge it exists. The world understands there are problems,” said Mr Ross.
他辯稱，世界正逐漸達成有必要進行改革的共識。羅斯表示：“如果你不承認存在問題，你就無法解決問題。現在世界明白存在問題。”
The commerce secretary added that he thought much of the rest of the world was hypocritical in calls for free trade and a multilateral system. “It’s the protectionist people — the ones who are — who do the free trade rhetoric. The ones whose behaviour is totally at odds with what they say.”
羅斯補充稱，他認為世界其他地方的許多人在呼吁自由貿易和多邊體系方面言不由衷。“那些口頭上喊自由貿易的其實是保護主義者。這些人完全言行不一。”
The comments by Messrs Ross and Mnuchin come as executives at global companies have expressed growing alarm in Davos about the administration’s stance on trade. “We are all worried about a trade war,” one American chief executive said. “There has been some crazy language around.
在羅斯和姆努欽發(fā)表上述言論之際，全球企業(yè)的高管們在達沃斯紛紛表示日益警惕美國政府的貿易立場。一位美國的首席執(zhí)行官表示：“我們全都擔心爆發(fā)貿易戰(zhàn)。最近一直有一些瘋狂的言論。”
There is particular concern about the risk of a damaging trade war with China, since it could have wide economic consequences and complicate separate measures that the American government is taking to forge a common front with China to tackle North Korea.
尤其令人擔憂的是美中爆發(fā)破壞性貿易戰(zhàn)的風險，因為它可能產生廣泛的經濟影響，并讓美國政府采取的與中國結成統(tǒng)一戰(zhàn)線應對朝鮮的種種措施復雜化。
However, Mr Ross said that businesses were simply expressing these concerns because they were “worried about change”.
然而，羅斯表示，商界表示出這些關切完全是因為他們“擔心改變”。
Mr Mnuchin welcomed the moves that China was taking to step up pressure on North Korea and stressed that the sanctions which the US Treasury placed this week against Chinese banks who deal with North Korea was “directed against North Korea, not China”.
姆努欽對中國采取措施向朝鮮施加更大壓力表示歡迎，他強調，美國財政部本周對與朝鮮開展業(yè)務的中資銀行出臺制裁措施，是“針對朝鮮，而非中國”。
“China is doing a considerable amount, we would obviously like them to do more,” Mr Mnuchin said. “And I would say that Russia has not done nearly enough and we would like them to continue to do more as well.”
姆努欽說：“中國在做大量的工作，我們當然希望他們做更多。而且我想說，俄羅斯做得還遠遠不夠，我們希望他們也繼續(xù)做更多的工作。”
