美国最大港口用户担心中美贸易战

    The combined California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are the largest in the United States.
    加州的洛杉矶港口和长滩港口加起来是美国最大的港口。

    An estimated $417 billion worth of goods pass through the two ports each year. About $362 billion of that comes from trade with the Asia Pacific area.
    每年估计有价值4170亿美元的货物通过这两个港口,其中3620亿美元来自与太平洋地区的贸易。

    But businesses using the ports are expecting a sharp rise in shipping costs because of tariffs announced by the United States and China.
    但是由于中美两国公布的关税,企业使用这些港口的运输成本将会大幅上升。

    Liang Liang owns an import company in Los Angeles that deals mainly with toys and clothes from China. He told VOA he has had concerns about his business in recent weeks after hearing about planned tariff increases.
    梁亮(Liang Liang)在洛杉矶拥有一家进口公司,主要经营来自中国的服装和玩具。他对美国之音表示,最近几周他在听到计划增加关税之后,对他的生意非常担忧。

    "I have been watching the news every day. When will the tariffs be put in place? When are my goods arriving? It's a fight against time. I'm trying to order all my products for the rest of the year."
    他说:“我每天都在看新闻,看关税什么时候实施,我的货物什么时候到港,这是在与时间赛跑。我想把我今年下半年的所有产品都定好。”

    Liang said he expects a 10- to 20-percent increase in shipping costs if a trade war breaks out between the U.S. and China. He said if tariffs were to increase more than 20 percent, he would be forced to raise the prices of his goods.
    梁亮表示,如果中美之间爆发贸易战,他预计运费会上涨10%到20%。他说,如果关税提高20%以上,他将被迫提高商品售价。

    Stephen Cheung is president of the Los Angeles-based World Trade Center. The center provides assistance to international companies seeking to bring or expand operations in the area.
    张鸿泉 (Stephen Cheung)是洛杉矶世贸中心主席。该中心帮助国际企业在该地区寻求开展或扩大业务。

    He said that as tariffs from both countries increase the cost of goods, manufacturers and sellers may order fewer products. This, Cheung said, would result in a decrease in overall trade between the U.S. and China.
    他说,由于两国的关税增加了商品成本,制造商和销售商可能会减少订货。他说,这将会导致中美之间的整体贸易减少。

    "Once that happens, you're going to see an increase in the rates for shipping. Because when you don't have the volume to justify the goods going back and forth, you are going to see a further increase in that shipping cost."
    他说:“一旦发生这种情况,运费就会上涨。因为没有足够成交量让货物在两国之间流通,运输成本就会进一步上涨。”

    Cheung said this rise in shipping costs would eventually result in higher prices for people buying the products.
    张宏泉表示,运费上涨最终会导致人们购买商品的价格上涨。

    Other officials at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach say it is still too early to tell what effect additional trade tariffs will have.
    洛杉矶和长滩港口的其他官员表示,现在判断额外的贸易关税会有什么影响尚为时过早。

    Duane Kenagy is currently deputy director of the Port of Long Beach. He told VOA that so far, the port has seen record container business this year. For now, Kenagy is waiting to see how different businesses change their supply operations to deal with the tariff environment. But he warned that a continuing trade war could be "devastating" to both the U.S. and Chinese economies.
    杜安· 凯纳吉(Duane Kenagy)是长滩港口的现任副长官。他对美国之音表示,截至目前,该港口今年的集装箱业务创下新高。凯纳吉目前正在观望不同企业如何调整其供应链以适应关税环境。但他警告说,持续的贸易战可能会给中美双方造成破坏性影响。

    President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials have accused China of carrying out unfair trading practices. The officials say tariffs are needed to reduce a large trade imbalance. The United States imported more than $500 billion in Chinese goods last year, compared to $130 billion in U.S. products exported to China.
    川普总统和其他官员指责中国进行不公平贸易行为。官员们表示需要征收关税以降低贸易不平衡。去年美国进口了超过5000亿美元的中国商品,而出口到中国的美国商品则为1300亿美元。

    Importer Liang Liang remains hopeful that a U.S.-China trade war can be avoided. He said he thought recent announcements on tariffs were made for political purposes and may not last.
    进口商梁亮仍然对中美两国避免贸易战抱有希望。他说,他认为最近公布的关税都是出于政治目的,可能不会长久。

    Stephen Cheung said he understands the reasons the United States decided to announce heavy tariffs on Chinese imports. But he urged administration officials to carefully consider how such changes will affect local importers.
    张宏泉表示,他理解美国决定宣布对中国进口商品征收高额关税的原因。但他督促政府官员认真考虑这类变化将会如何影响当地进口商。

    "What are the steps you're going to use to mitigate some of these damages that will be happening to the local community? These are huge issues that have not been addressed yet," he said.
    他说:“你会采取那些措施来减轻对当地社区将会产生的一些损害?这些都是尚未解决的大问题。”

    I'm Bryan Lynn.
    我是布莱恩·林恩。(51VOA.COM原创翻译,禁止转载,违者必究!)