特朗普政府準備無視不利美國的WTO裁決

The Trump administration is preparing to ignore any rulings by the World Trade Organisation that it sees as an affront to US sovereignty, according to a leaked report prepared by officials.

一份遭外泄的、由多名官員準備的報告顯示，特朗普(Trump)政府準備無視任何它認為有意冒犯美國主權的世界貿(mào)易組織(WTO)裁決。

The move would be a departure from US practice and a blow to the watchdog’s credibility.

此舉將有違美國的慣常做法，也會對世貿(mào)組織的公信力構成打擊。

The hard-hitting report, due to be sent to Congress on Wednesday and obtained by the Financial Times, marks the first time the new administration has laid out its trade plans in writing. The administration promises to shake up US trade policy and confront what it portrays as a dysfunctional global system that has benefited China and other emerging economies at a cost to US workers.

英國《金融時報》拿到的這份措辭強硬的報告定于在周三發(fā)給美國國會，它是美國新政府首次以書面形式列出其貿(mào)易方案。特朗普政府承諾要整頓美國的貿(mào)易政策，直面它所稱的功能失調(diào)的全球體系。按特朗普政府的描述，這一全球體系犧牲美國工人的利益為代價，給中國和其他新興經(jīng)濟體帶去了好處。

“Ever since the United States won its independence, it has been a basic principle of our country that American citizens are subject only to laws and regulations made by the US government — not rulings made by foreign governments or international bodies,” officials wrote. “Accordingly, the Trump administration will aggressively defend American sovereignty over matters of trade policy.”

官員們寫道：“自美國獲得獨立以來，有一點始終是我們國家的基本原則：美國公民只受制于美國政府制定的法律法規(guī)，而不受制于外國政府或國際機構作出的裁決。因此，在貿(mào)易政策問題上，特朗普政府將積極維護美國的主權。”

The report laying out President Donald Trump’s 2017 trade agenda comes as his administration is examining alternatives to using the WTO’s dispute settlement system. It also makes clear the scorn with which Mr Trump and his aides regard the Geneva-based institution in which Washington played a key role in establishing in the 1990s.

這份列出美國總統(tǒng)唐納德•特朗普(Donald Trump) 2017年貿(mào)易議程的報告出現(xiàn)之際，特朗普政府正在審視有何辦法繞開世貿(mào)組織的爭端解決機制。這份報告還清楚地揭示出特朗普及其助手對世貿(mào)組織的蔑視態(tài)度。世貿(mào)組織是一家總部位于日內(nèi)瓦的機構，上世紀90年代該機構成立過程中，美國政府發(fā)揮過關鍵作用。

Washington is facing several important WTO decisions, particularly involving China. Potentially the most important is a WTO complaint filed in December by Beijing against the EU and US for blocking China’s request to be treated as a “market economy” under the institution’s rules.

華盛頓方面正面臨幾項重要的世貿(mào)組織裁定，特別是與中國有關的裁定。其中最重要的，可能涉及去年12月中國在世貿(mào)組織對歐盟(EU)和美國提起的訴訟。中方起訴的理由是，歐盟和美國拒絕按照中國要求的那樣，視中國為世貿(mào)組織規(guī)定下的一個“市場經(jīng)濟體”。

A final ruling could still be years away. But were the US to ignore a finding in China’s favour it could have major consequences for the WTO as a venue for resolving trade disputes before they fester into destructive trade wars.

最終的裁決可能還需要幾年時間才能作出。然而，如果美國對有利于中國的裁決采取無視態(tài)度，那可能會對世貿(mào)組織作為貿(mào)易爭端解決平臺、避免貿(mào)易爭端惡化為毀滅性貿(mào)易戰(zhàn)的作用產(chǎn)生重大影響。

A spokesman for Wilbur Ross, the new US commerce secretary and Mr Trump’s trade tsar, declined to comment.

美國新商務部長、特朗普團隊貿(mào)易“沙皇”威爾伯•羅斯(Wilbur Ross)的發(fā)言人拒絕置評。

Echoing Mr Trump’s vows to rip up and renegotiate existing trade deals, the report blames the WTO for enabling the economic rise of China and failing to enforce its rules on Beijing.

這份報告呼應了特朗普撕毀既有貿(mào)易協(xié)定并重新展開談判的誓言，它將中國經(jīng)濟崛起歸咎于世貿(mào)組織，并指責該機構未能對中國執(zhí)行其規(guī)定。

“President Trump has called for a new approach, and the Trump administration will deliver on that promise,” it declares. “It is time for a more aggressive approach.”

報告宣稱：“特朗普總統(tǒng)呼吁采取新做法，特朗普政府將兌現(xiàn)這一承諾。是時候采取更強有力的做法了。”

The administration said it planned to use “all possible leverage” to open up foreign markets to US goods and companies. Among the tools it cites is a provision known as Section 301 of the US trade act of 1974 that allows the US to impose punitive tariffs against countries for discriminating against US goods but which has not been used by Washington since the WTO’s 1995 creation.

特朗普政府表示，它計劃動用“一切可能手段”，為美國商品和美國企業(yè)打開外國市場。報告提及的手段包括一項名為美國《1974年貿(mào)易法》(Trade Act of 1974)第301條款(Section 301)的法律條文。該條款允許美國政府對歧視美國商品的國家征收懲罰性關稅。不過，自1995年世貿(mào)組織成立以來，美國政府一直沒有動用過該條款。

The measure, which was used in the 1980s against Japan and other trading partners, has long been seen as a blunt unilateral instrument of US trade policy. But in the report, administration officials call it “a powerful lever to encourage foreign countries to adopt more market-friendly policies”.

上世紀80年代，該條款曾被用來針對日本及其他貿(mào)易伙伴。長期以來，該條款一直被視為美國貿(mào)易政策中一個粗暴的單邊政策工具。但在上述報告中，特朗普政府官員卻稱該條款是“鼓勵外國采取對市場更友好政策的有力手段”。

The change, the administration argues, is needed to address a US trade deficit in manufactured goods with the rest of the world that has more than doubled over the past 16 years to $648bn last year. Over that time the US has lost almost 5m manufacturing jobs while real median household incomes have declined.

特朗普政府論稱，為了解決美國對世界其余地區(qū)的制成品貿(mào)易逆差，這一變革是必要的。過去16年里，該逆差已增長一倍以上，去年達到6480億美元。在同一時期內(nèi)，美國流失了近500萬個制造業(yè)崗位，家庭實際收入中值也出現(xiàn)下滑。

“The results of this system have not lived up to expectations,” the report says. “These figures indicated that while the current global trading system has been great for China, a giant economy that does not act on the basis of market principles, the United States (and many other countries) that practise market-based capitalism have struggled over the last 16 years.”

報告表示：“該體系的結(jié)果辜負了人們的期望。這些數(shù)字表明，當前全球貿(mào)易體系對中國這個并未依照市場原則行事的巨大經(jīng)濟體十分有利，像美國(及其他許多國家)這樣踐行以市場為基礎的資本主義的，卻在過去16年里處境艱難。”