歐美領導人爲達成貿易協定作最後努力

Washington and Brussels are scrambling to rebuild momentum for a landmark trade accord as signs grow that it is faltering under an increasingly bitter onslaught from politicians on both sides of the Atlantic.

華盛頓和布魯塞爾正忙於爲一項標誌性的貿易協定重建動力。跡象顯示，在大西洋兩岸政客的猛烈抨擊下，眼下該協定岌岌可危。

Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, travelled to Paris yesterday to sell potentially the world’s biggest trade deal to one of the toughest constituencies in Europe — a convention of France’s mayors.

歐盟委員會(European Commission)主席讓-克洛德•容克(Jean-Claude Juncker，見上圖)昨日前往巴黎，向法國的市長們（歐洲最難對付的羣體之一）兜售可能是全球最大的貿易協定。

He reassured them that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership would not hurt their interests. “I believe that TTIP negotiations can yield a deal that will profit the European economy — our SMEs and our farmers — without harming standards,” he said.

容克向他們保證，《跨大西洋貿易與投資夥伴關係協定》(Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, TTIP)將不會損害他們的利益。他說：“我相信，TTIP談判可以在不損害標準的情況下，締結一個造福於歐洲經濟（我們的中小企業和我們的農民）的協議。”

Frustrated by hardening opposition from Germany’s influential socialists and the French government, Mr Juncker has called for the 28 member states to reconfirm their commitment to the deal at a summit next month. The commission argues that the countries must show that they are “all rowing in the same direction”. Britain and Italy are strong supporters.

容克對德國具有影響力的社會黨人和法國政府的強硬反對感到沮喪，他呼籲28個成員國在下月的峯會上重申它們對該協定的承諾。歐盟委員會辯稱，這些國家必須表明，他們“全都向同一方向划船”。英國和意大利是TTIP的堅定支持者。

Speaking in Stockholm on a European tour to push TTIP, Michael Froman, President Barack Obama’s trade tsar, warned that there was no “Plan B” if talks were not concluded this year.

美國總統巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)的貿易談判代表邁克•弗羅曼(Mike Froman)前往歐洲推動TTIP。他在斯德哥爾摩發表演講時警告稱，如果今年內不能完成談判，不會有任何“B計劃”。

“We either work together to help set the rules of the world, or we leave that role to others,” he said.

他表示：“我們要麼聯合起來幫助制定全球規則，要麼把這個角色讓給別人。”

TTIP’s supporters have also been blindsided by increasing opposition to trade deals in the US, where Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has built his campaign around an antitrade message and Democrat Hillary Clinton has abandoned her support for a similar Pacific trade pact.

在美國，越來越多的人反對貿易協議，這令TTIP的支持者備受打擊，共和黨假定總統候選人唐納德•特朗普(Donald Trump)的競選平臺是建立在反對貿易的立場基礎上的，而有望成爲民主黨候選人的希拉里•克林頓(Hillary Clinton)也放棄了她對類似的太平洋貿易協議的支持。

With the clock running out on Mr Obama’s presidency, officials on both sides now believe the window is closing for a deal to be reached and approved in Europe and the US before the end of the year. EU officials stress that they want to agree a working text by July. Failure to complete the agreement before a change in US administration could condemn the pact to years of drift.

隨着奧巴馬總統任期即將結束，歐美雙方官員現在認爲，該協議在今年底之前在歐洲和美國達成並獲得批准的時間窗口正在關閉。歐盟官員強調，他們希望最遲在7月達成一個工作文本。如果未能在美國行政當局換屆之前達成協議，可能會導致該協議被拖延數年。

France is the most vocal TTIP sceptic, largely because of fears that the deal could harm its farming sector and lessen the value of geographical indications that protect iconic French wines, cheeses and meats.

法國是最直言不諱的TTIP懷疑者，主要原因是該國擔心，該協議可能會損害法國農業，削弱其地理標識的價值，這些標識保護着法國標誌性的葡萄酒、奶酪和肉類。