美国官员警告称2018年美将加速出台贸易举措
美国政府的重要成员警告称，为了防止其眼中世界各地不公平的贸易行为，美国政府准备加强应对措施，但他们否认这代表美国正滑向新形式的、可能会损害整体经济的“保护主义”。
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.
在达沃斯(Davos)发表讲话的美国财政部长史蒂文•姆努钦(Steven Mnuchin)告诉英国《金融时报》，他“绝对”认为2018年美国会加速出台贸易举措。他还表示，在推行更严厉贸易政策方面，美国政府协调一心。
“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.”
“总统非常明确地表态，如果出现严重贸易失衡，我们希望能处理和解决。”他说，“在本届政府中，我们在这个问题上是高度协调的……这是总统非常关注的一个政策问题。”
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.
与此同时，美国商务部长威尔伯•罗斯(Wilbur Ross)警告称，2017年推出的一些重大贸易举措将在2018年“结出硕果”。
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.
在接下来几周，美国总统需要在若干截止日期前，就有关铝材和钢材进口的国家安全调查、以及对中国知识产权制度的广泛调查采取行动。华盛顿的许多人士预计，其结果将是美国出台更多关税并打压中国投资。本周，美国政府开征了其首批重要关税，对象是进口太阳能电池和进口洗衣机。
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，这两位内阁成员都断然否认美国政府的政策正朝着孤立主义倾斜，他们称美国政府的目的是改革在其看来日益失灵的全球贸易体系。
“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.”
“我们根本不喜欢用“保护主义”这个词……我们不用这个词。”姆努钦说，“这与保护主义无关，而是关乎自由和公平的互惠贸易。我们欢迎任何想与我们进行互惠贸易的人。”
Mr Ross insisted that the campaign for reform was already bearing fruit, even inside the World Trade Organization.
罗斯坚称，改革贸易体系的行动已经取得成效，甚至在世界贸易组织(WTO)内部也是如此。
“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.”
“这是一个老体系，有几十年历史了。世界变了，经济变了，各国的座次变了，一切都变了。WTO真的没有调整好其角色。即使往好了说，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.
他辩称，世界正逐渐达成有必要进行改革的共识。罗斯表示：“如果你不承认存在问题，你就无法解决问题。现在世界明白存在问题。”
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.”
罗斯补充称，他认为世界其他地方的许多人在呼吁自由贸易和多边体系方面言不由衷。“那些口头上喊自由贸易的其实是保护主义者。这些人完全言行不一。”
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.
在罗斯和姆努钦发表上述言论之际，全球企业的高管们在达沃斯纷纷表示日益警惕美国政府的贸易立场。一位美国的首席执行官表示：“我们全都担心爆发贸易战。最近一直有一些疯狂的言论。”
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.
尤其令人担忧的是美中爆发破坏性贸易战的风险，因为它可能产生广泛的经济影响，并让美国政府采取的与中国结成统一战线应对朝鲜的种种措施复杂化。
However, Mr Ross said that businesses were simply expressing these concerns because they were “worried about change”.
然而，罗斯表示，商界表示出这些关切完全是因为他们“担心改变”。
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”.
姆努钦对中国采取措施向朝鲜施加更大压力表示欢迎，他强调，美国财政部本周对与朝鲜开展业务的中资银行出台制裁措施，是“针对朝鲜，而非中国”。
“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.”
姆努钦说：“中国在做大量的工作，我们当然希望他们做更多。而且我想说，俄罗斯做得还远远不够，我们希望他们也继续做更多的工作。”
