The US has set the stage for a global showdown over steel, launching a national security probe that could lead to sweeping tariffs on steel imports in what would be the first significant act of protectionism by President Donald Trump.
美国已经为在钢铁问题上进行全球摊牌搭起舞台：以国家安全为由展开调查，可能导致美国对钢铁进口实施全面关税，那将是唐纳德?特朗普(Donald Trump)总统的首项重大保护主义行动。
The decision to use a 1962 law allowing the US government to limit imports that threaten security readiness is intended to deliver on Mr Trump’s campaign promise to bolster heavy industry and “put new American steel into the spine of this country”, officials said.美国官员表示，利用1962年的一部法律（准许美国政府对危及安全应对能力的进口进行限制）的决定，旨在兑现特朗普的竞选承诺：支撑重工业，“把新的美国钢铁放入这个国家的脊柱中”。But it risks setting off trade tensions with China just days after Mr Trump avoided another conflict by backing down on a promise to label Beijing a currency manipulator, citing in part its help in dealing with North Korea.但这可能会引发美国与中国的贸易紧张关系，不久前特朗普刚刚避免引发另一场冲突，放弃了给中国贴上汇率操纵国的承诺，称一部分原因是中国正在帮助对付朝鲜。Mr Trump called the move a “historic day for American steel” but insisted it “has nothing to do with China”. “This has to do with worldwide, what’s happening,” he said.特朗普称此举是“美国钢铁业历史性的一天”，但坚持称“与中国无关”。他称，“这与全世界有关，与正在发生的情况有关。”The push on steel came as Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, repeated a warning that protectionism represented a serious threat to global growth.此次对钢铁采取行动，正值国际货币基金组织(IMF)总裁克里斯蒂娜?拉加德(Christine Lagarde)再次警告保护主义对全球增长构成严重威胁。But Ms Lagarde, who has been locked in a rhetorical battle over protectionism with Wilbur Ross, Mr Trump’s commerce secretary, sought to engage with the White House by acknowledging a need for changes in global trade. Echoing some of Mr Trump’s criticism of the multilateral system, the former French finance minister said there were increasing signs countries were violating global trading rules.但是，在保护主义问题上正与特朗普的商务部长威尔伯?罗斯(Wilbur Ross)陷入一场论战的拉加德，也承认全球贸易格局需要某些改变，借此找到和白宫之间的共同点。这位法国前财长呼应了特朗普对多边体系的某些批评，称有越来越多的迹象表明，有些国家正在违反全球贸易规则。Mr Ross said the administration was concerned that rising steel imports were threatening the US industry and its ability to respond quickly to security needs.罗斯称，特朗普政府担心不断增加的钢铁进口，正威胁美国工业及其迅速应对安全需求的能力。The issue was particularly relevant because of Mr Trump’s plans to increase spending on defence programmes, such as warships, that rely on steel, he said.他称，由于特朗普计划增加依赖钢铁的国防项目开支，比如军舰，因此该问题格外相关。The US in recent years has launched 152 steel anti-dumping cases at the World Trade Organisation, with another 25 pending, but Mr Ross said the trade dispute system was “porous” because it allowed only narrowly-focused complaints against specific countries.
近年来，美国在世贸组织(WTO)发起了152次钢铁反倾销申诉，另有25起申诉案尚未提起，但罗斯称，世贸组织的贸易争端解决机制“千疮百孔”，因为它只允许对特定国家发起波及面非常窄的申诉。“We’re groping here to see whether the facts warrant a more comprehensive solution that would deal with a very wide range of steel products from a very wide range of countries,” he said.他称，“我们正在摸索，看看事实是否证明需要更全面的解决方案，从而一举对付来自很多国家的各种钢材产品。”Any such action by the US would be likely to hurt steel producers in Europe and Asia, and trigger reprisals.美国采取任何此类行动都可能会损害欧洲和亚洲的钢铁制造商，并且引发报复。The US steel industry has blamed Chinese overcapacity for driving down global prices and causing it to shut down mills. The sector is operating at only 71 per cent of its capacity with imports accounting for more than a quarter of the US steel market, Mr Ross said.美国钢铁业指责中国产能过剩导致了全球钢铁价格下滑，造成美国关闭了部分工厂。罗斯称，美国钢铁业目前只利用了71%的产能，进口钢铁占据了美国钢铁市场四分之一以上的份额。While Mr Trump has promised a hardline trade policy since taking office, his biggest action to date has been to pull the US out of a vast, but never finalised, 12-country Pacific trade deal. Most other moves have thus far been largely rhetorical.尽管特朗普在上任以来承诺采取强硬的贸易政策，但他迄今采取的最大行动是让美国退出拥有12个成员国、庞大但从未敲定的太平洋贸易协定。其他大多数行动迄今基本上停留在表态上。