歐盟、日本和美國將在貿易問題上抱團施壓中國

 The EU, Japan and the US are set to announce a new alliance to take on China more aggressively over trade issues such as overcapacity in steel and forced technology transfers, in a rare effort at international economic co-operation by the Trump administration.

歐盟、日本和美國將宣布建立新聯盟，在鋼鐵產能過剩和強制性技術轉讓等貿易問題上更強勢地與中國對抗，這是特朗普(Trump)政府在國際經濟合作上的罕見努力。

In a statement due to be issued on Tuesday on the sidelines of a World Trade Organization meeting, the three economies will target the “severe excess capacity” in important sectors like steel and the role of illegal subsidies, state financing and state-owned enterprises in fuelling it, according to a draft read to the Financial Times.

據悉這三大經濟體將在周二世界貿易組織(WTO)會議間隙發(fā)表一份聲明，根據英國《金融時報》聽到的草稿，它們將把目標對準鋼鐵等重要行業(yè)的“嚴重產能過剩”現象，以及非法補貼、國家資助和國有企業(yè)在助長產能過剩問題中的作用。

Also targeted are the rules in countries such as China that require foreign investors to hand over important proprietary technologies or house content and data on local servers.

另一個目標是中國等一些國家要求外國投資者轉讓重要專有技術或把內容和數據存儲在當地服務器的規(guī)定。

The statement will not name China. But it reflects all three economies’ growing angst about its continuing economic rise, officials said. It also addresses two of the Trump administration’s main complaints against China — its flooding of global markets with cheap steel, aluminium and other commodities and the way it is using intellectual property rules to acquire strategic technologies.

該聲明不會點中國的名字。但有官員稱，它反映出這三個經濟體對中國經濟的日益崛起越來越感到焦慮。它也觸及特朗普政府對中國的兩大不滿——讓廉價的鋼鐵、鋁和其他大宗商品充斥全球市場，以及利用知識產權規(guī)定來獲取戰(zhàn)略技術的做法。

Mr Trump and his aides have lashed out at China and revived US trade statutes to launch controversial investigations that could lead to punitive tariffs and other trade sanctions.

特朗普及其助手強烈抨擊中國，并且重新啟動了美國有關貿易法規(guī)，對中國發(fā)起可能導致懲罰性關稅和其他貿易制裁的具有爭議的調查。

But the EU and Japan have been seeking to talk the administration out of unilateral action, arguing that co-operating with the EU and countries like Japan would better serve US interests and do more to raise pressure on Beijing.

但是歐盟和日本一直試圖說服特朗普政府退出單邊行動，認為美國與歐盟以及日本等國家合作將更好地滿足美國的利益并且更能向北京方面施加壓力。

The goal is to stave off a feared surge in protectionism. A new study due to be released on Tuesday by Simon Evenett, a researcher at St Gallen University in Switzerland, is set to show that protectionist measures introduced since the 2008 global financial crisis have caused the growth of EU exports to stall.

其目標是避免貿易保護主義浪潮高漲這一令人擔憂的情況出現。瑞士圣加侖大學(University of St Gallen)的研究員西蒙•伊文奈特(Simon Evenett)預計于周二公布的一項新研究報告將顯示，自2008年全球金融危機以來出臺的保護主義措施已導致歐盟出口增長停滯。

Subsidies, Mr Evenett said, have been a major component of that. “This isn't the protectionist mix our forefathers would have recognised and reflects the holes in the WTO's rule book, especially as they relate to subsidies,” he said.

伊文奈特表示，補貼是保護主義措施的主要組成部分。他稱：“這不是我們的前人所認識的那類保護主義組合措施，這反映出了WTO規(guī)則的漏洞，特別是與補貼有關的規(guī)則。”

EU officials are also keen to convince the Trump administration to embrace the WTO as a venue for fighting its trade battles rather than going it alone. Tuesday’s statement is due to call for “enhancing trilateral co-operation in the WTO”, according to one EU official.

歐盟官員也急于說服特朗普政府把WTO作為發(fā)動貿易戰(zhàn)的場地，而不要單槍匹馬地戰(zhàn)斗。據歐盟一名官員介紹，周二的聲明將呼吁“加強WTO內的三邊合作”。

The move comes amid a combative biennial meeting of ministers from the WTO’s 164 member countries in Buenos Aires. Many see the Trump administration’s assault on the institution as casting a dark cloud.

此舉正值WTO的164個成員國在布宜諾斯艾利斯舉行火藥味濃厚的兩年一屆的部長級會議。很多人認為，特朗普政府攻擊WTO給會議蒙上了一層陰影。

Addressing his fellow ministers on Monday, US trade representative Robert Lighthizer said the WTO faced “serious challenges” including “losing its essential focus on negotiation and becoming a litigation-centred organisation”. He called for the WTO to do more to focus on issues like chronic industrial overcapacity and the role of state-owned enterprises in distorting global trade.

周一，美國貿易代表羅伯特•萊特希澤(Robert Lighthizer)在向各國部長演講時表示，WTO面臨著“嚴峻挑戰(zhàn)”，其中包括“失去了對協商的必要關注，開始變成以訴訟為中心的組織”。他呼吁WTO采取更多努力，關注長期工業(yè)產能過剩以及國有企業(yè)在扭曲全球貿易中的作用等問題。

He also complained about WTO rules that allow China and other major emerging economies special treatment that exempts them from certain requirements.

他還抱怨了WTO的部分規(guī)則，稱這些規(guī)則使中國和其他主要新興經濟體享受了特殊待遇，使它們免于遵守某些要求。

“If in the opinion of a vast majority of members playing by current WTO rules makes it harder to achieve economic growth, then clearly serious reflection is needed,” he said.

“如果從絕大多數成員國按照現行WTO規(guī)則行事卻更難以實現經濟增長這一點來看，那么就有必要進行認真反思，”他稱。

Mr Lighthizer did not mention a US bid to force change in a WTO dispute-settlement arm that it sees as too interventionist.

萊特希澤沒有提到美國要求改革WTO爭端解決機構的事情——美國認為該機構干預過多。

Because the US is now blocking the filling of vacancies on its appellate body as members’ terms run out, one of the main subjects of discussion on the sidelines in Buenos Aires has been what many fear is a US bid to dismantle the dispute system. Monday marked the final day of a Belgian member’s four-year term, leaving the appellate panel with just four of its seven judges in place.

上訴機構(Appellate Body)部分成員任期已滿，但因為美國眼下阻撓該機構填補空缺，此次布宜諾斯艾利斯會議間隙討論的主要話題之一就是很多人擔心的美國可能要求廢除爭端解決機制。周一是上訴機構一名比利時成員4年任期的最后一天，使得該機構7個成員席位目前只有4人在任。

In meetings with fellow ministers Mr Lighthizer has continued to lay out the US’s complaints about the dispute system. But he has not offered any potential solutions, officials say.

萊特希澤在與各成員國部長會晤時繼續(xù)闡述了美國對爭端解決機制的不滿。不過有官員表示，他并沒有提出任何可能的解決方案。