TPP推進 特朗普孤立政策遭批評

A weekend Move by Japan and 10 other Pacific nations to press ahead with a vast regional trade agreement without the US has prompted fresh criticism that Donald Trump’s “America First” trade policy is leaving Washington increasingly isolated.

日本與另外10個太平洋國家週末決定推進一項沒有美國參與的大規模區域貿易協定，引發了對於唐納德?特朗普(Donald Trump)的“美國優先”(America First)貿易政策正導致華盛頓日益孤立的批評。

The 11 remaining members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which the Obama administration spent years negotiating and Mr Trump pulled out of on his third day in office, announced on Saturday that they had reached agreement on the “core elements” of a deal to proceed without the US.

特朗普上任第三天就宣佈退出奧巴馬(Obama)政府花費數年時間談判達成的《跨太平洋夥伴關係協定》（Trans-Pacific Partnership，簡稱TPP），而剩下的11個成員國上週六宣佈，他們已就一項協定的“核心要素”達成一致，擬在沒有美國的情況下推進這項貿易協定。

The group still has work to do, as Canada, Malaysia and Vietnam seek changes to an agreement they have rebadged — at Canada’s request — as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

這些國家仍有工作要做，因爲加拿大、馬來西亞、越南都希望修改這一協定；在加拿大的要求下，該協定已更名爲“全面且先進的TPP”(Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership)。

But officials said the plan was to sign a final agreement early next year, in a deal that would eliminate the tariffs on 95 per cent of goods traded in a bloc covering some 500m people and more than $10tn in economic output.

但官員們表示，他們的計劃是在明年初簽署一項最終協定，該協定將在一個覆蓋約5億人口、經濟產出超過10萬億美元的集團消除95%貿易商品的關稅。

“This will send out a very strong message to the US and to other Asia-Pacific countries,” said Toshimitsu Motegi, the Japanese economy minister.

“這將向美國和亞太區其他國家發出非常強烈的信號，”日本經濟再生大臣茂木敏充(Toshimitsu Motegi)表示。

The announcement came as Mr Trump continued to press the case for a rewriting of the US trade relationship with countries in Asia via bilateral trade deals and to push for a new “Indo-Pacific” strategy.

這一宣佈出爐之際，特朗普繼續推動通過雙邊貿易協定重寫美國與亞洲國家的貿易關係，並推動新的“印度洋-太平洋”戰略。

The president and the White House were pointing to the way his Asia trip had been celebrated in China, Japan and other stops along the way. But critics charge that, on the trade front at least, the administration looks increasingly like it is being outmanoeuvred by Beijing and others.

特朗普總統和白宮都強調其亞洲之行在中國、日本等國家受到熱烈歡迎。但批評人士指責稱，至少在貿易方面，特朗普政府似乎正日益被中國等國的政府佔上風。

“I think everyone was polite to him and they want to make him think that they are all chummy and willing to do things with him. But I have to think in some ways they are laughing behind his back, and certainly the Chinese are,” one US business lobbyist told the Financial Times on Sunday. “I don’t think any of them have any intention of getting into a deal with him, certainly not on the terms that he wants.”

“我認爲每個國家都對他以禮相待，想讓他認爲大家是好朋友，他們願意與他合作。但我不禁想到，他們在某些方面在背後嘲笑他，中國人肯定會這樣，”一位美國商業說客週日告訴英國《金融時報》，“我不認爲他們中任何人有意願想要和他達成協議，肯定不會以他想要的條件達成。”

Michael Froman, who led the US TPP negotiations under the Obama administration, said that the renewed agreement “shows how our allies and partners continue to see the value of putting in place high standards and tearing down trade barriers across the region. Clearly, as the US retreats, the rest of the world is moving on”.

奧巴馬政府時期領導美國TPP談判的邁克爾?弗羅曼(Michael Froman)表示，更新後的協定“顯示出我們的盟友和夥伴繼續認爲，在整個地區實施高標準和清除貿易壁壘是有價值的。很明顯，在美國後退之際，世界其他國家翻開了新的一頁。”