中國威脅將報復(fù)美國金屬關(guān)稅

China has threatened retaliation after the Trump administration received a green light to impose steep tariffs on aluminium and steel imports on national security grounds, in the latest escalation of trade tension between the world’s top two economies.

在特朗普政府以國家安全為由對鋁和鋼材進口征收高額關(guān)稅的構(gòu)想迎來綠燈后，中國威脅要發(fā)起報復(fù)。這是世界兩大經(jīng)濟體之間貿(mào)易緊張的最新升級。

US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross on Friday recommended a possible global tariff of at least 24 per cent on imports of steel and 7.7 per cent on aluminium after investigations into trade in both metals determined that import surges seen in recent years “threaten to impair our national security”.

美國商務(wù)部長威爾伯•羅斯(Wilbur Ross)上周五建議，可能對鋼材進口開征至少為24%的全球關(guān)稅，對鋁進口開征至少為7.7%的關(guān)稅。此前美方在對兩種金屬的貿(mào)易進行調(diào)查后確定，近年的進口激增“可能損害我國的國家安全”。

Wang Hejun, an official at China’s commerce ministry said imposing tariffs on such grounds was reckless. “The spectrum of national security is very broad and without a clear definition it could easily be abused,” he said.

中國商務(wù)部貿(mào)易救濟調(diào)查局局長王賀軍表示，以這類理由征收關(guān)稅是輕率的。“‘國家安全’范圍十分廣泛，缺乏統(tǒng)一界定，極易造成濫用，”他表示。

“If the final decision from the US hurts China’s interests, we will certainly take necessary measures to protect our legitimate rights,” he added.

“如果美方最終的決定影響中國利益，中方必將采取必要措施維護自身正當權(quán)利，”他補充說。

Analysts say Beijing is wary of escalating any trade disputes for fear of damaging its export-dependent economy, and so will focus any retaliation on specific sectors — most likely particular agricultural goods such as soybeans, for which China is the US’ largest export market. Beijing this month launched an anti-dumping investigation into US exports of sorghum, an animal feed.

分析人士表示，北京方面不愿讓任何貿(mào)易糾紛升級，擔(dān)心那會損害中國的出口依賴型經(jīng)濟，所以中國的報復(fù)行動將聚焦于特定行業(yè)，最有可能的是大豆等特定農(nóng)產(chǎn)品;中國是美國大豆的最大出口市場。北京本月已對美國出口的高粱(一種動物飼料)展開反傾銷調(diào)查。

“For the moment I think China will just put out harsher rhetoric,” said Bo Zhuang, an economist at consultancy Trusted Sources. “Agricultural sector retaliation is more likely since (China’s) food price inflation is low. The next possible step will be going on further with a soyabean and corn investigation,” he added.

“就目前而言，我認為中國將只會發(fā)表更嚴厲的言論，”咨詢公司“信源”(Trusted Sources)經(jīng)濟學(xué)家莊波表示。“由于(中國)食品價格通脹較低，農(nóng)業(yè)部門的報復(fù)更有可能。下一步可能會進一步展開大豆和玉米調(diào)查，”他補充說。

Trade hardliners in Mr Trump’s administration are eager to take action against China after months of internal debate. One option presented by the commerce department on Friday was a targeted tax on steel and aluminium imports from China and other countries like Brazil and Vietnam. A third option would impose quotas to reduce metals imports from all countries to far below the level of 2017.

經(jīng)過數(shù)月的內(nèi)部辯論后，特朗普政府的貿(mào)易強硬派人士渴望對中國采取行動。商務(wù)部上周五提出的一個選擇是對中國以及巴西和越南等國輸美鋼鐵和鋁產(chǎn)品征收針對性的關(guān)稅。第三種選擇將是實施配額，將來自所有國家的金屬進口減少至遠低于2017年數(shù)量的水平。

But the recommendations illustrate how Mr Trump’s desire to hit China, which the US steel industry blames for a collapse in metal prices in recent years, may result in collateral damage for US allies and invite retaliation.

但是這些建議展示出，特朗普打擊中國的愿望(美國鋼鐵業(yè)將近年金屬價格崩盤歸咎于中國)可能給美國的盟友造成連帶損害，并招致報復(fù)。

Officials in Brussels have already begun drafting possible retaliatory measures aimed at politically sensitive US products like Kentucky bourbon and Wisconsin dairy products if Mr Trump opts for a global quota or tariff system.

針對特朗普選擇出臺全球配額或關(guān)稅制度的可能性，布魯塞爾的官員們已經(jīng)開始起草可能的報復(fù)措施，其矛頭將指向政治上敏感的美國產(chǎn)品，如肯塔基州波旁威士忌和威斯康星州的乳制品。

Mr Trump has until April to decide whether to adopt any of the recommendations, Mr Ross said. The long-awaited results of the “Section 232” investigations into aluminium and steel imports caused shares in major US producers to rise sharply on Wall Street on Friday.

羅斯表示，特朗普最遲需要在4月份決定是否采納任何建議。各方等待已久的針對鋁和鋼材進口的“第232條”調(diào)查結(jié)果出爐后，美國主要生產(chǎn)商的股價上周五大幅上漲。

During a meeting with members of Congress last week Mr Trump said he was convinced that imposing tariffs would “create a lot of jobs” and dismissed warnings that such measures in the past had hurt more than they had helped by causing higher costs for many companies.

特朗普上周在與國會議員開會時表示，他確信征收關(guān)稅將“創(chuàng)造大量就業(yè)機會”，并對相關(guān)警告不屑一顧;這些警告稱，以往這類措施帶來的損害比幫助更多(因為它們推高了許多企業(yè)的成本)。

“I want to keep prices down but I also want to make sure that we have a steel industry and an aluminium industry and we do need that for national defence,” Mr Trump said. “If we ever have a conflict we don’t want to be buying steel [from] a country we are fighting.”

“我想保持價格處于低位，但我也想確保我國有鋼鐵工業(yè)和鋁業(yè)，我國的國防確實需要這些產(chǎn)業(yè)，”特朗普表示。“如果有朝一日我們發(fā)生沖突，我們不希望從我們與之交戰(zhàn)的國家購買鋼材。”