美國(guó)政府不排除援助西屋電氣

The White House has not ruled out providing government support for Westinghouse, the bankrupt US nuclear group, as the Trump administration works to ensure that the US remains a force in the nuclear industry.

白宮沒有排除向破產(chǎn)的美國(guó)核能集團(tuán)西屋電氣(Westinghouse)提供政府支持的可能性，唐納德•特朗普(Donald Trump)政府正致力于確保美國(guó)仍在核工業(yè)領(lǐng)域占據(jù)一席之地。

A senior White House official said the administration is holding regular discussions about Westinghouse since the company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in March. Officials are trying to find a buyer for Westinghouse to ensure it does not fall into Chinese or Russian hands, but the White House is aware that without an acceptable private-sector solution the group may need government help to remain under US control.

一位白宮高級(jí)官員表示，自西屋電氣今年3月進(jìn)入美國(guó)破產(chǎn)法第11章(Chapter 11)的破產(chǎn)程序以來(lái)，特朗普政府一直在圍繞該公司展開定期討論。官員們正嘗試為西屋電氣尋找買家，以確保其不會(huì)落入中國(guó)人或俄羅斯人之手，但白宮明白，在缺乏一項(xiàng)可接受的私營(yíng)部門解決方案的情況下，該集團(tuán)或?qū)⑿枰趴纱_保其處于美國(guó)控制之下。

“There’s always possibility,” the White House official said when asked whether the administration would consider providing federal help. “We clearly have been having discussions in the White House about Westinghouse and about the future of nuclear and the future of having more than one US-based nuclear power manufacturer.”

在被問(wèn)及政府是否會(huì)考慮提供聯(lián)邦政府援助時(shí)，上述白宮官員表示：“可能性一直存在。我們顯然一直在白宮就西屋電氣、核工業(yè)的未來(lái)以及未來(lái)?yè)碛胁恢挂患颐绹?guó)本土核能設(shè)備制造商的前景進(jìn)行討論。”

Westinghouse is one of only two big US nuclear engineering companies, along with General Electric, which has a joint venture with Hitachi of Japan. The White House has concerns about the economic impact of losing a technology exporter, and national security concerns that range from technology transfer issues to the fact that Westinghouse supplies technology for US Navy nuclear submarines.

西屋電氣與通用電氣(General Electric)是美國(guó)僅有的兩家大型核能工程公司，后者與日本的日立(Hitachi)成立了一家合資公司。白宮既擔(dān)心失去一家技術(shù)出口商造成的經(jīng)濟(jì)影響，也有國(guó)家安全方面的擔(dān)憂——從技術(shù)轉(zhuǎn)讓問(wèn)題到西屋電氣為美國(guó)海軍核潛艇提供技術(shù)這一事實(shí)。

The US is not concerned that Westinghouse is owned by Toshiba since Japan is a strong ally. But the companies most likely to be interested in buying Westinghouse’s nuclear business include groups from China and Russia, which has sparked concern. One administration official said the Trump team had been “engaging with potential buyers and investors” to find a solution that would not endanger US national security.

日本是美國(guó)得力盟友，所以美國(guó)并不擔(dān)心西屋電氣歸于東芝(Toshiba)旗下。但最有可能對(duì)收購(gòu)西屋電氣核業(yè)務(wù)感興趣的公司包括來(lái)自中國(guó)和俄羅斯的集團(tuán)，這引發(fā)了擔(dān)憂。一名美國(guó)政府官員表示，特朗普?qǐng)F(tuán)隊(duì)一直在“與潛在買家和投資者接觸”，以期找到一種不會(huì)危及美國(guó)國(guó)家安全的解決方案。

President Donald Trump is expected to address the importance of the US nuclear industry on Thursday when he unveils his energy policy. Ahead of the speech, Rick Perry, US energy secretary, told the Financial Times and other media outlets that America needed to ensure it remained technologically and economically engaged with nuclear power. “If we do not, then China and Russia will fill that void,” he warned.

預(yù)計(jì)特朗普總統(tǒng)將在周四公布自己的能源政策時(shí)闡述美國(guó)核工業(yè)的重要性。在特朗普演講之前，美國(guó)能源部長(zhǎng)里克•佩里(Rick Perry)對(duì)英國(guó)《金融時(shí)報(bào)》等媒體表示，美國(guó)需要確保自身在技術(shù)上和經(jīng)濟(jì)上繼續(xù)發(fā)展核能。“如果我們不這么做，那么中國(guó)和俄羅斯將填補(bǔ)進(jìn)來(lái)，”他警告稱。

Mr Perry stressed that the debate over how to deal with Westinghouse was broader than the company. “It’s a lot bigger than just making sure that Westinghouse continues to be a stable American company,” he said. “This is a massively important issue for the security of America and the security for America’s allies.”

佩里強(qiáng)調(diào)，關(guān)于如何處置西屋電氣的爭(zhēng)論不僅關(guān)乎這一家公司。“事情比僅僅確保西屋電氣繼續(xù)作為一家穩(wěn)固的美國(guó)公司要重大，”他說(shuō)，“對(duì)美國(guó)及美國(guó)盟友的安全而言，這是一個(gè)極為重要的問(wèn)題。”

The US nuclear industry’s future has been cast into doubt by the financial crisis at Westinghouse. The only new commercial reactors under construction in the US are four Westinghouse AP1000s being built in Georgia and South Carolina.

西屋電氣的財(cái)務(wù)危機(jī)引發(fā)了外界對(duì)美國(guó)核工業(yè)前景的質(zhì)疑。美國(guó)目前在建的新商業(yè)反應(yīng)堆只有正在佐治亞州和南卡羅來(lái)納州建造的四座西屋電氣AP1000型核反應(yīng)堆。

Work at the sites is continuing for now, thanks to guarantees from Toshiba. But experts say those commitments may not be enough to pay for the reactors to be completed. Failure to finish construction would deal a serious blow to Westinghouse’s hopes of selling reactors overseas.

幸虧有東芝的擔(dān)保，目前這些反應(yīng)堆的建設(shè)仍在繼續(xù)。但專家表示，東芝承諾的資金可能不足以支付這些反應(yīng)堆建成的費(fèi)用。無(wú)法竣工將嚴(yán)重打擊西屋電氣出口反應(yīng)堆的愿望。

It would also damage Mr Trump’s hopes of boosting exports of energy and related technology to create jobs in America — a message that the president will stress when he addresses the issue of US “energy dominance” on Thursday.

同時(shí)這也會(huì)打擊特朗普促進(jìn)能源及相關(guān)技術(shù)出口、為美國(guó)創(chuàng)造就業(yè)的愿望——特朗普周四就美國(guó)“能源優(yōu)勢(shì)”(energy dominance)問(wèn)題發(fā)表演講時(shí)將強(qiáng)調(diào)這一點(diǎn)。

Gary Cohn, head of the White House national economic council, said Mr Trump would speak about “the importance of energy, how it fits in with our domestic economy, how it fits in with jobs, how it fits in with being a force for good at home and abroad, the fact that we’re getting to energy independence, that we can export energy to the world and be part of a global energy market economy”.

白宮國(guó)家經(jīng)濟(jì)委員會(huì)主席加里•科恩(Gary Cohn)表示，特朗普將談及“能源的重要性，它如何與我們的國(guó)內(nèi)經(jīng)濟(jì)相切合，如何與就業(yè)創(chuàng)造相切合，如何與成為對(duì)國(guó)內(nèi)外都有益的力量相切合，還有一個(gè)事實(shí)，即美國(guó)正在實(shí)現(xiàn)能源獨(dú)立，能夠向世界出口能源并成為全球能源市場(chǎng)經(jīng)濟(jì)的一部分”。

Mr Trump will talk about boosting LNG exports — particularly to energy-hungry nations in Asia such as Japan, India and China. Mr Cohn said that while the LNG business was a private enterprise, the government could help on the regulatory front.

特朗普將談及擴(kuò)大液化天然氣(LNG)出口——尤其是面向日本、印度、中國(guó)等能源需求旺盛的亞洲國(guó)家。科恩表示，雖然液化天然氣業(yè)務(wù)是私營(yíng)業(yè)務(wù)，但政府可以在監(jiān)管方面提供幫助。

“The federal government owns basically nothing. We just regulate it all. So we can make the regulatory process much more efficient, much smoother, and very quick,” he said.

“聯(lián)邦政府基本上不擁有任何東西。我們只是進(jìn)行監(jiān)管。因此，我們可以讓監(jiān)管過(guò)程變得更高效、更順暢、更快捷，”他說(shuō)。

While some officials tout LNG and Mr Trump has talked about reinvigorating the US coal industry, the White House official said all forms of energy should compete “without potential government subsidies or tax credits”.

雖然一些官員稱贊液化天然氣而特朗普也在談?wù)撝卣衩绹?guó)煤炭行業(yè)，但上述白宮官員表示，所有形式的能源都應(yīng)“在沒有政府潛在補(bǔ)貼或稅收減免的情況下”進(jìn)行競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。

The US wind and solar power industries have gained from tax credits for several years, but the administration intends to let them phase out, under a plan set by Congress in 2015.

美國(guó)風(fēng)能和太陽(yáng)能產(chǎn)業(yè)多年來(lái)一直享受稅收減免，但根據(jù)國(guó)會(huì)2015年制定的一項(xiàng)計(jì)劃，政府打算逐步取消相關(guān)政策。

Despite tensions between the US and its neighbours over a range of trade issues, the Trump administration is embracing the idea that Mexico and Canada form a single regional energy market with the US.

雖然美國(guó)與鄰國(guó)在一系列貿(mào)易問(wèn)題上關(guān)系緊張，但特朗普政府正接受這樣的理念，即墨西哥、加拿大可以與美國(guó)組成一個(gè)單一的區(qū)域能源市場(chǎng)。

The White House official said the two neighbouring countries were crucial because of the way their power grids and pipelines connected with the US. “The energy markets are looking at North America as one homogenised market with free border transportation through pipes and wires,” he said.

上述白宮官員表示，這兩個(gè)鄰國(guó)之所以重要，是因?yàn)樗鼈兊碾娋W(wǎng)和能源管道與美國(guó)相連。他說(shuō)：“能源市場(chǎng)正將北美看作一個(gè)可通過(guò)管道和電線自由跨境輸送的統(tǒng)一市場(chǎng)。”

The balance of US-Mexico energy trade has flipped in recent years. For a long time, the relationship was defined by Mexican sales of crude oil to the US. But in 2015 and 2016, the value of US energy exports to Mexico including natural gas exceeded the value of imports from Mexico, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

美墨之間能源貿(mào)易的平衡近年來(lái)出現(xiàn)了反轉(zhuǎn)。過(guò)去很長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間都是墨西哥向美國(guó)出售原油。但根據(jù)美國(guó)能源情報(bào)署(US Energy Information Administration)的數(shù)據(jù)，2015年和2016年，美國(guó)對(duì)墨西哥能源出口(包括天然氣)的價(jià)值超過(guò)了從墨西哥進(jìn)口能源的價(jià)值。

Mr Cohn said the shift was due to improved infrastructure and transportation routes. “Why has Mexico become such a big taker of US gas? Pipelines,” he said. “We just connected in all the pipelines in the last couple of years. It’s all transportation. The demand’s been there. We just had to get to it.”

科恩表示，這一轉(zhuǎn)變應(yīng)歸功于基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施和運(yùn)輸路線的改善。“為什么墨西哥會(huì)成為美國(guó)天然氣如此大的買家?管道，”他說(shuō)，“過(guò)去幾年，我們剛剛把所有管道連接起來(lái)。關(guān)鍵在于運(yùn)輸。需求早已存在。我們只需滿足這些需求。”