Leading corporate lobbyists said the departure of Gary Cohn, a centrist force in the White House policy maelstrom, could endanger the economic gains flowing from recent corporate tax cuts and undercut US leadership if it led to more aggressive actions on trade. 領(lǐng)先的企業(yè)游說者稱,白宮政策“大漩渦”中的中間立場力量加里•科恩(Gary Cohn)的離職,可能危及近期企業(yè)稅削減所帶來的經(jīng)濟(jì)效益,并削弱美國的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)地位——如果此舉導(dǎo)致更多貿(mào)易方面的激進(jìn)行動(dòng)。
Despite the warnings from investors and corporate interests, the administration said it would press on with tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, which are championed by Cohn rivals Peter Navarro, White House trade adviser, and commerce secretary Wilbur Ross. 盡管投資者和企業(yè)利益集團(tuán)發(fā)出種種警告,但特朗普政府表示,將堅(jiān)決推進(jìn)對進(jìn)口鋼鐵和鋁征收關(guān)稅,這些措施是由科恩的對手們倡導(dǎo)的,包括白宮貿(mào)易顧問彼得•納瓦羅(Peter Navarro)和商務(wù)部長威爾伯•羅斯(Wilbur Ross)。
“We are definitely going to end up with these tariffs and we are going to roll this out very, very quickly,” Steven Mnuchin said yesterday. The Treasury secretary also told Fox Business there would be a process for businesses to seek exceptions from the president. 史蒂文•姆努欽(Steven Mnuchin)昨日表示:“我們肯定要征收這些關(guān)稅,我們將非常迅速地推出細(xì)則。”這位財(cái)長還對福克斯商業(yè)頻道(Fox Business)表示,將有一個(gè)讓企業(yè)尋求總統(tǒng)豁免的過程。
Mr Cohn’s announcement rattled equity investors, with European markets selling off sharply before recovering; the Hang Seng closed down 1 per cent. The S&P 500 fell as much as 1 per cent in the morning before recovering. 科恩的宣布令股市投資者驚慌,歐洲股市在反彈前遭遇大幅拋售;恒生指數(shù)(Hang Seng)收跌1%。標(biāo)準(zhǔn)普爾500指數(shù)(S&P 500)早盤下跌達(dá)1%,隨后反彈。
Washington’s biggest business lobby, the US Chamber of Commerce, said it was “very concerned about the increasing prospects of a trade war” following the announced departure of Mr Cohn, a former president of Goldman Sachs who vigorously opposed the tariff measures. 華盛頓最大商業(yè)游說團(tuán)體——美國商會(huì)(US Chamber of Commerce)表示,科恩宣布離職后,該組織“非常擔(dān)心貿(mào)易戰(zhàn)爆發(fā)可能性上升的前景”。身為高盛(Goldman Sachs)前總裁的科恩此前強(qiáng)烈反對這些關(guān)稅措施。
“Alienating our strongest global allies amid high-stakes trade negotiations is not the path to long-term American leadership,” said chamber president Thomas Donohue, urging the administration to refrain from global tariffs that would harm US manufacturers. 美國商會(huì)主席托馬斯•多諾休(Thomas Donohue)稱:“在利害關(guān)系重大的貿(mào)易談判中疏遠(yuǎn)我們最強(qiáng)有力的全球盟友,不是維護(hù)美國長期領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力的方式。”他敦促特朗普政府不要出臺(tái)有損美國制造商利益的全球關(guān)稅。
Joshua Bolten, Business Roundtable president, said Mr Cohn’s planned departure was “a real loss for President Trump and the American people”. 商業(yè)圓桌會(huì)議(Business Roundtable)主席喬舒亞•博爾頓(Joshua Bolten)表示,科恩計(jì)劃離職是“特朗普總統(tǒng)和美國人民的真正損失”。
The corporate broadsides came at the same time that US Steel delivered a boost to the president, saying it would reopen idled operations at its Granite City Works in Illinois, saying the move was prompted by the promised tariffs. 企業(yè)界猛烈抨擊的同時(shí),美國鋼鐵公司(US Steel)力挺總統(tǒng)的政策,稱其在伊利諾伊州的Granite City Works將再度開工,并表示此舉受到了承諾的關(guān)稅的推動(dòng)。
Mr Trump’s tariffs appeal to his Rust Belt base but are not popular nationally. A Quinnipiac University poll found 特朗普的關(guān)稅政策對其“銹帶”(Rust Belt)基礎(chǔ)選民有吸引力,但在全國范圍不受歡迎。昆尼皮亞克大學(xué)(Quinnipiac University)進(jìn)行的一項(xiàng)民調(diào)顯示,50%的選民表示反對,近三分之二的受訪者不認(rèn)同他關(guān)于貿(mào)易戰(zhàn)“是件好事”的主張。
50 per cent of voters were opposed and almost two-thirds disagreed with his assertion that trade wars were “good”. 曾經(jīng)擔(dān)任特朗普競選顧問的史蒂夫•穆爾(Steve Moore)稱:“現(xiàn)在是貿(mào)易的危險(xiǎn)時(shí)刻。”他表示,科恩并非不可替代,而考慮到競選期間的承諾,特朗普的關(guān)稅決定是可以預(yù)見的。但他補(bǔ)充說:“美國經(jīng)濟(jì)正在全速推進(jìn),為何要用這一政策攪局呢?”
“This is a dangerous time for trade,” said Steve Moore, a former Trump campaign adviser. He said Mr Cohn was not irreplaceable and Mr Trump’s decision on tariffs had been predictable given his campaign pledges. But he added: “The economy is firing on all cylinders, so why disrupt it with this policy?” 譯者/申凱