美國政府不排除援助西屋電氣

The White House has not ruled out providing government support for Westinghouse, the bankrupt US nuclear group, as the Trump administration works to ensure that the US remains a force in the nuclear industry.

白宮沒有排除向破產的美國核能集團西屋電氣(Westinghouse)提供政府支持的可能性，唐納德?特朗普(Donald Trump)政府正致力於確保美國仍在覈工業領域佔據一席之地。

A senior White House official said the administration is holding regular discussions about Westinghouse since the company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in March. Officials are trying to find a buyer for Westinghouse to ensure it does not fall into Chinese or Russian hands, but the White House is aware that without an acceptable private-sector solution the group may need government help to remain under US control.

一位白宮高級官員表示，自西屋電氣今年3月進入美國破產法第11章(Chapter 11)的破產程序以來，特朗普政府一直在圍繞該公司展開定期討論。官員們正嘗試爲西屋電氣尋找買家，以確保其不會落入中國人或俄羅斯人之手，但白宮明白，在缺乏一項可接受的私營部門解決方案的情況下，該集團或將需要政府援助纔可確保其處於美國控制之下。

“There’s always possibility,” the White House official said when asked whether the administration would consider providing federal help. “We clearly have been having discussions in the White House about Westinghouse and about the future of nuclear and the future of having more than one US-based nuclear power manufacturer.”

在被問及政府是否會考慮提供聯邦政府援助時，上述白宮官員表示：“可能性一直存在。我們顯然一直在白宮就西屋電氣、核工業的未來以及未來擁有不止一家美國本土核能設備製造商的前景進行討論。”

Westinghouse is one of only two big US nuclear engineering companies, along with General Electric, which has a joint venture with Hitachi of Japan. The White House has concerns about the economic impact of losing a technology exporter, and national security concerns that range from technology transfer issues to the fact that Westinghouse supplies technology for US Navy nuclear submarines.

西屋電氣與通用電氣(General Electric)是美國僅有的兩家大型核能工程公司，後者與日本的日立(Hitachi)成立了一家合資公司。白宮既擔心失去一家技術出口商造成的經濟影響，也有國家安全方面的擔憂——從技術轉讓問題到西屋電氣爲美國海軍核潛艇提供技術這一事實。

The US is not concerned that Westinghouse is owned by Toshiba since Japan is a strong ally. But the companies most likely to be interested in buying Westinghouse’s nuclear business include groups from China and Russia, which has sparked concern. One administration official said the Trump team had been “engaging with potential buyers and investors” to find a solution that would not endanger US national security.

日本是美國得力盟友，所以美國並不擔心西屋電氣歸於東芝(Toshiba)旗下。但最有可能對收購西屋電氣核業務感興趣的公司包括來自中國和俄羅斯的集團，這引發了擔憂。一名美國政府官員表示，特朗普團隊一直在“與潛在買家和投資者接觸”，以期找到一種不會危及美國國家安全的解決方案。

President Donald Trump is expected to address the importance of the US nuclear industry on Thursday when he unveils his energy policy. Ahead of the speech, Rick Perry, US energy secretary, told the Financial Times and other media outlets that America needed to ensure it remained technologically and economically engaged with nuclear power. “If we do not, then China and Russia will fill that void,” he warned.

預計特朗普總統將在週四公佈自己的能源政策時闡述美國核工業的重要性。在特朗普演講之前，美國能源部長裏克?佩裏(Rick Perry)對英國《金融時報》等媒體表示，美國需要確保自身在技術上和經濟上繼續發展核能。“如果我們不這麼做，那麼中國和俄羅斯將填補進來，”他警告稱。

Mr Perry stressed that the debate over how to deal with Westinghouse was broader than the company. “It’s a lot bigger than just making sure that Westinghouse continues to be a stable American company,” he said. “This is a massively important issue for the security of America and the security for America’s allies.”

佩裏強調，關於如何處置西屋電氣的爭論不僅關乎這一家公司。“事情比僅僅確保西屋電氣繼續作爲一家穩固的美國公司要重大，”他說，“對美國及美國盟友的安全而言，這是一個極爲重要的問題。”

The US nuclear industry’s future has been cast into doubt by the financial crisis at Westinghouse. The only new commercial reactors under construction in the US are four Westinghouse AP1000s being built in Georgia and South Carolina.

西屋電氣的財務危機引發了外界對美國核工業前景的質疑。美國目前在建的新商業反應堆只有正在佐治亞州和南卡羅來納州建造的四座西屋電氣AP1000型核反應堆。

Work at the sites is continuing for now, thanks to guarantees from Toshiba. But experts say those commitments may not be enough to pay for the reactors to be completed. Failure to finish construction would deal a serious blow to Westinghouse’s hopes of selling reactors overseas.

幸虧有東芝的擔保，目前這些反應堆的建設仍在繼續。但專家表示，東芝承諾的資金可能不足以支付這些反應堆建成的費用。無法竣工將嚴重打擊西屋電氣出口反應堆的願望。

It would also damage Mr Trump’s hopes of boosting exports of energy and related technology to create jobs in America — a message that the president will stress when he addresses the issue of US “energy dominance” on Thursday.

同時這也會打擊特朗普促進能源及相關技術出口、爲美國創造就業的願望——特朗普週四就美國“能源優勢”(energy dominance)問題發表演講時將強調這一點。

Gary Cohn, head of the White House national economic council, said Mr Trump would speak about “the importance of energy, how it fits in with our domestic economy, how it fits in with jobs, how it fits in with being a force for good at home and abroad, the fact that we’re getting to energy independence, that we can export energy to the world and be part of a global energy market economy”.

白宮國家經濟委員會主席加里?科恩(Gary Cohn)表示，特朗普將談及“能源的重要性，它如何與我們的國內經濟相切合，如何與就業創造相切合，如何與成爲對國內外都有益的力量相切合，還有一個事實，即美國正在實現能源獨立，能夠向世界出口能源併成爲全球能源市場經濟的一部分”。

Mr Trump will talk about boosting LNG exports — particularly to energy-hungry nations in Asia such as Japan, India and China. Mr Cohn said that while the LNG business was a private enterprise, the government could help on the regulatory front.

特朗普將談及擴大液化天然氣(LNG)出口——尤其是面向日本、印度、中國等能源需求旺盛的亞洲國家。科恩表示，雖然液化天然氣業務是私營業務，但政府可以在監管方面提供幫助。

“The federal government owns basically nothing. We just regulate it all. So we can make the regulatory process much more efficient, much smoother, and very quick,” he said.

“聯邦政府基本上不擁有任何東西。我們只是進行監管。因此，我們可以讓監管過程變得更高效、更順暢、更快捷，”他說。

While some officials tout LNG and Mr Trump has talked about reinvigorating the US coal industry, the White House official said all forms of energy should compete “without potential government subsidies or tax credits”.

雖然一些官員稱讚液化天然氣而特朗普也在談論重振美國煤炭行業，但上述白宮官員表示，所有形式的能源都應“在沒有政府潛在補貼或稅收減免的情況下”進行競爭。

The US wind and solar power industries have gained from tax credits for several years, but the administration intends to let them phase out, under a plan set by Congress in 2015.

美國風能和太陽能產業多年來一直享受稅收減免，但根據國會2015年制定的一項計劃，政府打算逐步取消相關政策。

Despite tensions between the US and its neighbours over a range of trade issues, the Trump administration is embracing the idea that Mexico and Canada form a single regional energy market with the US.

雖然美國與鄰國在一系列貿易問題上關係緊張，但特朗普政府正接受這樣的理念，即墨西哥、加拿大可以與美國組成一個單一的區域能源市場。

The White House official said the two neighbouring countries were crucial because of the way their power grids and pipelines connected with the US. “The energy markets are looking at North America as one homogenised market with free border transportation through pipes and wires,” he said.

上述白宮官員表示，這兩個鄰國之所以重要，是因爲它們的電網和能源管道與美國相連。他說：“能源市場正將北美看作一個可通過管道和電線自由跨境輸送的統一市場。”

The balance of US-Mexico energy trade has flipped in recent years. For a long time, the relationship was defined by Mexican sales of crude oil to the US. But in 2015 and 2016, the value of US energy exports to Mexico including natural gas exceeded the value of imports from Mexico, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

美墨之間能源貿易的平衡近年來出現了反轉。過去很長一段時間都是墨西哥向美國出售原油。但根據美國能源情報署(US Energy Information Administration)的數據，2015年和2016年，美國對墨西哥能源出口（包括天然氣）的價值超過了從墨西哥進口能源的價值。

Mr Cohn said the shift was due to improved infrastructure and transportation routes. “Why has Mexico become such a big taker of US gas? Pipelines,” he said. “We just connected in all the pipelines in the last couple of years. It’s all transportation. The demand’s been there. We just had to get to it.”

科恩表示，這一轉變應歸功於基礎設施和運輸路線的改善。“爲什麼墨西哥會成爲美國天然氣如此大的買家？管道，”他說，“過去幾年，我們剛剛把所有管道連接起來。關鍵在於運輸。需求早已存在。我們只需滿足這些需求。”