奧巴馬太平洋貿易談判努力迎來關鍵勝利

WASHINGTON — The Senate narrowly voted Tuesday to end debate on legislation granting President Obama enhanced negotiating powers to complete a major Pacific trade accord, virtually assuring final passage Wednesday of Mr. Obama’s top legislative priority in his final years in office.

華盛頓——週二，參議院以微弱優勢通過表決，結束了就授予奧巴馬總統更多談判權的立法所展開的討論，這種談判權將讓奧巴馬可以完成一項重要的太平洋貿易協定。這個投票結果實際上保證了奧巴馬在剩下任期的首要立法工作能在週三獲得最後通過。

The procedural vote, 60 to 37, reached the minimum threshold needed, but final passage will require only 51 votes. It was the second time the Senate blocked a filibuster of so-called trade promotion authority, but this time the bill was shorn of a separate measure to offer enhanced retraining and education assistance to workers displaced by international trade accords. That measure faces a crucial procedural vote on Wednesday as well.

此次程序性表決的結果爲60比37，達到了結束討論所需的最低門檻，而法案的最終通過只需要51票。這是參議院第二次打破針對所謂的貿易促進權的拖延戰術，但是這一次，該法案不包括一項單獨的措施，即向因國際貿易協定而被迫離開工作崗位的勞工提供強化培訓和教育協助。這項措施也將於週三面臨關鍵的程序性表決。

Passage of a stand-alone trade promotion bill will put pressure on House Democrats, who this month brought down the worker aid provision when it was linked to the fast-track legislation, a strategic move they hoped would torpedo the entire trade package.

一項單獨的貿易促進法案得到通過，會給民主黨衆議員施加壓力。本月，民主黨衆議員推翻了與前述“快速通道”法案相關的勞工協助條款，希望能憑藉這一戰略舉措來破壞整個貿易協定。

But Republican leaders — with support from the White House — found a parliamentary way to corner the Democrats, by separating the two pieces of the bill. By Wednesday evening, legislation will almost certainly be on the president’s desk giving him the power to complete the trade deal, the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, knowing Congress cannot amend or filibuster the final accord. He can sign it whether or not the House passes worker dislocation assistance when it is scheduled to come to a vote on Friday.

但是，擁有白宮支持的共和黨領導人在國會找到了一種逼迫民主黨的方式：把法案的兩個部分分開。到週三夜晚，法案几乎肯定會被放在總統的辦公桌上，賦予他完成該貿易協定——囊括12個國家的跨太平洋夥伴關係（Trans-Pacific Partnership，簡稱TPP）——的權力，因爲國會無權修訂最後的協定，也無法再實施拖延戰術。衆議院在週五的勞工援助法案投票不論通過與否，奧巴馬都可以簽署這項協定。

“This is a very important day for our country,” declared Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader. “America is back in the trade business.”

“對於我國，這是非常重要的一天，”肯塔基州共和黨人、參議院多數黨領袖米奇·麥康奈爾(Mitch McConnell)說。“美國又回到貿易事務上來了。”

Almost all Democrats — and the labor unions, environmental groups and liberal activists who fought the bill — bitterly disagreed.

幾乎所有民主黨人——以及反對該法案的工會、環保組織和自由派活動人士——都表示強烈反對。

“It is a great day for the big money interests, not a great day for working families,” said Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination.

正在競選民主黨總統提名資格的佛蒙特州無黨派參議員伯尼·桑德斯(Bernie Sanders)說，“這對於那些大利益集團是開心的一天，但對於工薪家庭卻非如此。”

Thirteen Democrats sided with Republicans to end the debate and move to a final vote on trade promotion.

爲了結束爭論，以及就貿易促進權進行最後投票，13名民主黨人與共和黨人站到了一邊。

The tortured path of trade promotion authority over the last six months created the bizarre spectacle of Mr. Obama linking arms with Republican leaders who otherwise have worked to thwart him, both on domestic and foreign policies.

過去六個月貿易促進權的艱辛道路創造了一個奇特的情況：在國內和外交政策方面，奧巴馬竟然與共和黨領導人聯起手來——後者原本對他百般阻撓。

“Occasionally, even the leader of the Democratic Party, the president of the United States, gets things right,” said Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the No.2 Republican.

德克薩斯州參議員，共和黨二號人物約翰·科寧(John Cornyn)說，“偶爾有時候，哪怕是民主黨領導人、美國總統，也能辦成一些事情。”

In the end, by summoning his parliamentary prowess, Mr. McConnell all but secured the top legislative priority of a president he once vowed to turn out after one term.

最後，麥康奈爾發揮自己在國會的能力，爲奧巴馬的首要立法工作提供了保障——而他曾信誓旦旦地表示要在奧巴馬第一個任期後把他趕下臺。

The path from here is still complicated, but for all its twists and turns, it is little in doubt.

從這裏開始，道路仍然曲折；但是儘管問題重重，事情卻幾乎沒有多少疑問。

The Senate on Wednesday is set to give final approval to trade promotion authority, then vote to end debate on a separate bill that attaches worker dislocation assistance to a broadly popular bill extending a longstanding trade agreement with Africa. That provision would then be voted on Thursday, and if approved as expected, it would go to the House on Friday.

週三，參議院必將最後批准貿易促進權，然後通過表決結束針對一項單獨法案的爭論。該法案把勞工援助法案與一項受到廣泛歡迎的法案捆綁在了一起——後者延長了與非洲的一項長期貿易協議。這個法規將於週四接受表決，如果如預期那樣得到批准，就將於週五遞交給衆議院。

This time, if Democrats bring it down, they will effectively be killing a worker education and retraining program that Democrats created in the Kennedy administration and have nurtured ever since — but will still watch Mr. Obama sign into law a “fast-track” trade negotiations bill that will extend well into the next presidency.

這一次，如果民主黨人將其推翻，他們實際上就會否決這個勞工教育和培訓項目——民主黨人在肯尼迪任內創立了這一項目，並且一直在對其進行完善——而且還是要眼睜睜看着奧巴馬把一項“快速通道”貿易談判法案簽署成法律，而且它將一直延續到下一任總統的任期。

At the same time, House and Senate negotiators will begin hashing out differences over a separate bill enhancing enforcement measures to police trade agreements. The measures will include a newly added provision speeding up action to combat foreign competitors who “dump” steel and other products on the United States market at artificially low prices to put domestic manufacturers out of business.

同時，參衆兩院的談判人員將開始消除在一項單獨法案上的分歧。該法案將加強執行措施，監督貿易協議。這些措施中將新增一個條款，用於加強對抗外國競爭者的行動。這些外國競爭者以人爲操縱的低價格向美國市場“傾銷”鋼材和其他產品，從而迫使國內製造商走向破產。

Opponents of fast track hoped trade promotion authority without worker assistance would run into trouble in the Senate. And some Democrats did try to stoke fears that Congress could give the president the power to complete major trade deals without any assistance to workers who might be hurt by those agreements.

“快速通道”的反對者希望剝離了勞工援助法案的貿易促進權會在參議院遇到麻煩。一些民主黨人的確也在煽動人們的恐慌情緒：國會可能會授予奧巴馬完成重大貿易協定的權力，同時又不爲可能因這些協議而利益受損的勞工提供任何幫助。

“How shameful is that? We’re making this decision knowing people will lose their jobs because of our actions. Yet we are not going to pass this assistance,” said Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, who led the opposition to trade promotion authority.

俄亥俄州的民主黨參議員、反對貿易促進權的領導人物謝羅德·布朗(Sherrod Brown)說，“這是多麼可恥！我們在做這個決定時，明明知道人們會因爲我們的舉動而失業，但我們卻不準備讓援助法案獲得通過。”

Only one senator, Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, changed his vote from last month. In April, Mr. Cruz wrote a commentary with Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, praising the trade promotion bill for giving Congress more power — not less — over future trade accords. Under the trade promotion bill, such accords could not be considered by Congress for four months after completion, and for two of those months, the agreements would have to be made public and fully accessible. The bill adds dozens of negotiating objectives requested by lawmakers, who still could vote down any deal struck.

從上個月開始，只有德克薩斯州共和黨參議員特德·克魯茲(Ted Cruz)改變了自己的立場。4月，克魯茲與威斯康星州共和黨衆議員保羅·D·瑞安(Paul D. Ryan)共同撰寫了一篇評論文章，稱讚這項貿易促進法案在將來的貿易協定的問題上增加——而非減少了——國會的權力。根據這項貿易促進法案，此類協定在完成之後，不能再接受國會爲期四個月的考評，而且其中兩個月，這些協議還必須公開，完全可供查閱。法案增加了議員所要求的數十個談判目標，他們仍然有權否決已經達成的所有協議。

Since then, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, one of Mr. Cruz’s rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, announced his opposition to the trade promotion bill, and many of the Republican Party’s most fervent conservatives voiced angry opposition to any bill enhancing Mr. Obama’s authority.

從那時起，作爲克魯茲共和黨總統提名人競選對手的肯塔基州參議員蘭德·保羅(Rand Paul)宣佈自己反對這項貿易促進法案，而且共和黨內許多最激進的保守派都憤怒地表示，他們反對所有增加奧巴馬權力的法案。

On Tuesday, on the conservative website , Mr. Cruz denounced the bill he once supported.

週二，克魯茲在保守派網站上對自己一度支持的法案表示了譴責。

“T.P.A. in this Congress has become enmeshed in corrupt Washington back-room deal-making, along with serious concerns that it would open up the potential for sweeping changes in our laws that trade agreements typically do not include,” Mr. Cruz said, again showing how presidential politics could complicate Mr. McConnell’s calculations over the next year.

“本屆國會的貿易促進權已經卷入了華盛頓腐敗的幕後交易，同時還有人非常擔心，它可能會促使我們的法律發生翻天覆地的變化，而貿易協議通常沒有這種作用，”克魯茲表示，這再次說明，總統競選政治令麥康奈爾對明年的盤算變得複雜起來。