VOA慢速英語：美國比較大港口用戶擔心中美貿(mào)易戰(zhàn)

Users of America’s Largest Ports Fear US-China Trade War

美國最大港口用戶擔心中美貿(mào)易戰(zhàn)

The combined California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are the largest in the United States.

加州的洛杉磯港口和長灘港口加起來是美國最大的港口。

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.

每年估計有價值4170億美元的貨物通過這兩個港口，其中3620億美元來自與太平洋地區(qū)的貿(mào)易。

But businesses using the ports are expecting a sharp rise in shipping costs because of tariffs announced by the United States and China.

但是由于中美兩國公布的關稅，企業(yè)使用這些港口的運輸成本將會大幅上升。

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)在洛杉磯擁有一家進口公司，主要經(jīng)營來自中國的服裝和玩具。他對美國之音表示，最近幾周他在聽到計劃增加關稅之后，對他的生意非常擔憂。

"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."

他說：“我每天都在看新聞，看關稅什么時候實施，我的貨物什么時候到港，這是在與時間賽跑。我想把我今年下半年的所有產(chǎn)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，如果中美之間爆發(fā)貿(mào)易戰(zhàn)，他預計運費會上漲10%到20%。他說，如果關稅提高20%以上，他將被迫提高商品售價。

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.

張鴻泉 (Stephen Cheung)是洛杉磯世貿(mào)中心主席。該中心幫助國際企業(yè)在該地區(qū)尋求開展或擴大業(yè)務。

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.

他說，由于兩國的關稅增加了商品成本，制造商和銷售商可能會減少訂貨。他說，這將會導致中美之間的整體貿(mào)易減少。

"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."

他說：“一旦發(fā)生這種情況，運費就會上漲。因為沒有足夠成交量讓貨物在兩國之間流通，運輸成本就會進一步上漲。”

Cheung said this rise in shipping costs would eventually result in higher prices for people buying the products.

張宏泉表示，運費上漲最終會導致人們購買商品的價格上漲。

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.

洛杉磯和長灘港口的其他官員表示，現(xiàn)在判斷額外的貿(mào)易關稅會有什么影響尚為時過早。

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· 凱納吉(Duane Kenagy)是長灘港口的現(xiàn)任副長官。他對美國之音表示，截至目前，該港口今年的集裝箱業(yè)務創(chuàng)下新高。凱納吉目前正在觀望不同企業(yè)如何調(diào)整其供應鏈以適應關稅環(huán)境。但他警告說，持續(xù)的貿(mào)易戰(zhàn)可能會給中美雙方造成破壞性影響。

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.

川普總統(tǒng)和其他官員指責中國進行不公平貿(mào)易行為。官員們表示需要征收關稅以降低貿(mào)易不平衡。去年美國進口了超過5000億美元的中國商品，而出口到中國的美國商品則為1300億美元。

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.

進口商梁亮仍然對中美兩國避免貿(mào)易戰(zhàn)抱有希望。他說，他認為最近公布的關稅都是出于政治目的，可能不會長久。

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.

張宏泉表示，他理解美國決定宣布對中國進口商品征收高額關稅的原因。但他督促政府官員認真考慮這類變化將會如何影響當?shù)剡M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.

他說：“你會采取那些措施來減輕對當?shù)厣鐓^(qū)將會產(chǎn)生的一些損害?這些都是尚未解決的大問題。”

I'm Bryan Lynn.

布萊恩·林恩報道。