美国开始征收“美国第一”关税，针对洗衣机和太阳能电池板 [英国媒体]

The US has approved controversial tariffs on imported washing machines and solar panels.

美国已批准对进口洗衣机和太阳能电池板征税这一争议性决定。



The move is in line with President Donald Trump's "America First" trade policy, which aims to protect local manufacturers from foreign competition.

此举符合唐纳德·特朗普总统的“美国第一”贸易政策，旨在保护本土制造商免受外国竞争。

A spokesman said the administration would "always defend American workers, farmers, ranchers and businessmen".

发言人说，政府将“总是捍卫美国工人，农民，牧场主和商人”。

But China and South Korea, whose manufacturers will be most heavily affected, criticised the move.

但是，中国和韩国的相关制造商将受到最严重的影响，他们批评了这一举措。

US officials said more trade enforcement actions would follow.

美国官员表示，之后将会有更多的贸易保护行动。

Mr Trump has talked about taking the action ever since coming to office. In his inauguration speech a year ago he promised to protect US borders from other countries "making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs".

特朗普自上任以来已经谈到过采取这样行动。
在一年前的就职演说中，他承诺保护美国避免其他国家“制造我们的产品，窃取我们的公司和摧毁我们的工作”。

The actions are being seen as the president's most significant trade moves since his decision to pull the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal (TPP) and renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta).

自从他决定将美国退出跨太平洋伙伴关系协议（TPP）并重新谈判北美自由贸易协定（Nafta）以来，这些行动被视为总统最重要的贸易行动。

Why have the tariffs been imposed?

为什么要（对这些商品）征收关税？

The tougher policy was approved by President Trump after the US International Trade Commission (ITC) found local manufacturers were being hurt by cheaper imports.

在美国国际贸易委员会（ITC）发现本土制造商受到廉价进口商品的伤害之后，特朗普总统批准了更严厉的政策。

Manufacturing companies - Whirlpool, a US-based maker of washing machines, and the solar firms Suniva and Solar World Americas - had complained to the ITC and it found in their favour.

美国洗衣机制造商惠而浦（Whirlpool），太阳能公司Suniva和Solar World Americas  - 过去向ITC投诉的公司，现在发现这样对他们十分有利了。

The tariffs set on solar panels were lower than domestic US producers had hoped for, but the duties on washing machines and parts were steeper than expected - adding as much as 50% in some cases, according to US documents.

据美国政府文件显示，太阳能电池板的关税低于美国本土生产商所希望的水平，但洗衣机和零部件的关税比预期的要高，在某些情况下，这一关税可能高达50％。

Is Trump the WTO's biggest threat?
World trade: What will Donald Trump do?
What is the World Trade Organization?
How will the tariffs work?

特朗普是世贸组织的最大威胁吗？
世界贸易：特朗普接下来将会做什么？
什么是世界贸易组织？
关税如何运作？

The first 1.2 million imported large residential washing machines in the first year will have a 20% tariff imposed on them, while there will be a 50% tariff on machines above that number.

第一年的头120万台进口大型洗衣机将被征收20％的关税，而超过这个数量的机器将有50％的关税。



By the third year, these will drop to 16% and 40% respectively.

到第三年，这些税分别会下降到16％和40％。

Figures suggest that in 2010, 1.6 million washing machines were imported to the US.

数据显示，2010年有160万台洗衣机进口到美国。

Meanwhile, the tariff increase on imported solar cells and modules in the first year will be 30%, falling to 15% by the fourth year, although 2.5 gigawatts (GW) of imported cells - enough for about 11.5 million panels - will be allowed in tariff-free annually.

同时，第一年进口太阳能电池板和相关部件的关税增长将达到30％，到第四年下降到15％，虽然2.5吉瓦的进口电池板（差不多1150万块电池板）将被允许
免关税。

The ITC said that China had been selling "artificially low-priced" solar components in the US, assisted by state subsidies.

ITC表示，中国公司通过国家补贴在美国出售“人为低价”的太阳能组件。

What has the reaction been?

厂商对这一举措有什么反应呢？

US appliance maker Whirlpool, which for years has sought protection against cheaper imports from South Korea and Mexico, welcomed the move.

美国家电制造商惠而浦多年来一直寻求从韩国和墨西哥进口廉价商品的保护措施。

"This announcement caps nearly a decade of litigation and will result in new manufacturing jobs in Ohio, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee," chairman Jeff Fettig said in a statement.

“这个诉讼了近十年才产生的举措，将导致在俄亥俄州，肯塔基州，南卡罗来纳州和田纳西州产生新的制造业岗位，”主席Jeff Fettig在一份声明中说。

Shares in Whirlpool rose 2.5% on the news, and it immediately announced it would employ 200 more people. Shares in US solar panel manufacturers also went up.

惠而浦因此股价上涨了2.5％，并立即宣布将再雇用200人。
美国太阳能电池板制造商股价也上涨了。

Environmentalists argue that making solar panels more expensive risks holding back the development of renewable energy in the country.

环保主义者认为，制造太阳能电池板成本较高的风险阻碍了该国可再生能源的发展。

China and South Korea have reacted angrily to the news.

中国和韩国对这一消息作出了愤怒的反应。

South Korea said it would complain to the World Trade Organization (WTO), calling the tariffs "excessive" and "regrettable". Its manufacturers, including Samsung and LG, compete in the washing machine market with US firms such as Whirlpool.

韩国表示将向世界贸易组织（WTO）投诉，称关税“太高”和“令人遗憾”。
包括三星和LG在内的制造商与惠而浦等美国企业在洗衣机市场上存在竞争。

Samsung called the tariffs "a tax on every consumer who wants to buy a washing machine".

三星把关税称为“对每个想买洗衣机的消费者征的税 ”。

Meanwhile China, the world's biggest solar panel manufacturer, said the move would further damage the global trade environment.

同时，拥有全球最大的太阳能电池板制造商的中国表示，此举将进一步损害全球贸易环境。

China is the US's biggest trading partner and government spokesman Wang Hejun said that Beijing expressed "strong dissatisfaction" with the plans.

中国是美国最大的贸易伙伴，政府发言人王贺军表示，北京方面对此表示“强烈不满”。

He warned that "together with other WTO members, China will resolutely defend its legitimate interests" adding that the plans "not only aroused the concern of many trading partners but was also strongly opposed by many local governments and downstream enterprises in the US".

他警告说，“中国将与其他WTO成员一起坚决捍卫自己的合法利益”。他说，这一举措“不仅引起了许多贸易伙伴的关注，而且也受到了美国许多地方政府和下游企业的强烈反对。