TPP計劃進展恐陷入深度僵局

Barack Obama spent the weekend scrambling to rescue his trade agenda amid warnings from US negotiating partners overseas that a failure by Congress to back the president would put plans for an ambitious Pacific Rim trade zone into a deep freeze.

巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)在剛剛過去的週末奮力挽救其貿易議程，同時美國的海外談判夥伴警告稱，若美國國會不支持奧巴馬，雄心勃勃的環太平洋貿易區計劃將陷入深度凍結。

Republicans and a small band of Democrats on Friday narrowly voted to grant Mr Obama the fast-track authority he needs to close the Trans-Pacific Partnership with Japan and 10 other countries, a deal that would be the largest concluded in a generation.

上週五，共和黨以及爲數不多的民主黨議員在投票中以微弱優勢授予奧巴馬“快車道”授權，這是他與日本等11個國家達成《跨太平洋夥伴關係》（Trans-Pacific Partnership，簡稱TPP）所需要的。TPP將是一代人以來最大規模的貿易協定。

But in a significant rebuke to their president, Democrats defeated a related bill that would have extended a decades-old training and income-support programme for workers dislocated because of trade that the party and unions have long championed.

但是，民主黨投票否決了另一個相關議案，該議案的目的是延長一個實行了數十年的培訓和收入支持計劃，面向因貿易而失業的美國工人；民主黨及工會長期支持這個計劃。此舉是對民主黨籍的美國總統的重大非難。

Because the two bills are tied together, the move by Democrats, which was cheered on loudly by labour unions and demonstrated the power they still have within the party, meant that, on procedural grounds, the “fast-track” bill will be held up from becoming law.

因爲這兩個議案是綁定在一起的，民主黨此舉（受到工會熱烈歡呼，說明了他們在該黨內部仍有影響力）意味着，從程序上說，“快車道”議案將無法成爲法律。

Congress is expected to vote again on the Trade Adjustment Assistance programme as early as tomorrow and the president and Republicans spent the weekend trying to find a way around the Democratic opposition. If that effort fails, however, Tim Groser, New Zealand trade minister, warned over the weekend, “I think we’ve got to be realistic, I don’t think this [TPP] negotiation will get up again for another two years”, when there will be a new US president.

預計國會最早將於明日就“貿易調整援助計劃”(TAA)再次投票，同時奧巴馬和共和黨週末忙於尋找繞開民主黨反對的途徑。然而，新西蘭貿易部長蒂姆•格羅澤(Tim Groser)在週末警告稱，如果那項努力失敗，“我認爲我們必須現實些，我不認爲TPP談判能夠在兩年內重啓”，兩年後將有一位新的美國總統。

In his weekly radio address, Mr Obama appealed to Democrats, saying as many as 100,000 Americans would be hurt if the programme was allowed to expire. “For the sake of those workers, their families, and their communities, I urge those members of Congress who voted against Trade Adjustment Assistance to reconsider, and stand up for American workers,” he said.

奧巴馬在每週一次的電臺講話中向民主黨發出呼籲，稱如果該計劃未能通過，將有多達10萬美國人受到傷害。“爲了這些工人、他們的家庭以及它們的社區，我敦促那些投票反對TAA的國會成員重新考慮，捍衛美國工人的權益，”他稱。