美參議院投票阻止貿易促進權法案

WASHINGTON —Senate Democrats handed President Obama a stinging rebuke on Tuesday, blocking consideration of legislation granting their own president accelerated power to complete a major trade accord with Asia.

華盛頓——週二，參議院投票決定對一項立法不予考慮，該法案的目的是向總統授權，方便他儘快與亞洲國家達成一項重要貿易協定。這是民主黨人向他們自己的總統發起的一次嚴厲責難。

The Senate voted 52-45 on a procedural motion to begin debating the bill to give the president “trade promotion authority,” eight votes short of the 60 needed to proceed. Republicans and pro-trade Democrats said they would try to negotiate a trade package that could clear that threshold.

一項開始討論授予總統“貿易促進權”的立法程序動議，在參議院被以52比45票的結果否決——比獲得通過所需要的60票少八票。共和黨人及支持貿易的民主黨人表示，他們會努力開展談判，達成一攬子交易，清除限制。

But the vote Tuesday presented Mr. Obama what might be a no-win situation. He may have to accept trade enforcement provisions he does not want in order to propel the trade legislation through the Senate, but those same provisions might doom the Pacific trade negotiations that legislation is supposed to lift.

但週二的投票結果使奧巴馬陷入一個可能全盤皆輸的境地。他可能需要接受他不希望看到的貿易執法條款，以便推動該貿易法案在參議院獲得通過，但這些條款可能會影響太平洋貿易談判，而該法案原本是爲了給談判掃清障礙。

That is especially true for a measure demanding a crackdown on currency manipulation, which is strongly opposed by Japan and Malaysia, two of the 12 nations trying to complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the largest trade accord in a generation.

一項要求打擊匯率操縱行爲的措施尤其會產生這種效果。共有12個國家正在努力達成這個世代規模最大的貿易協議——跨太平洋夥伴關係（Trans-Pacific Partnership，簡稱TPP），其中包括強烈反對該打擊措施的日本和馬來新亞。

“It creates a whole new monster set of arguments and debates that we don’t need,” Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, the main author of the trade bill, said of the currency language.

“這帶來了新一輪不必要的爭吵和辯論，”猶他州參議員奧林·G·哈奇(Orrin G. Hatch)提到有關匯率的評論時說。他是這項貿易法案的主要起草人。

“I offered to have them bring up a bill later, do everything I can to give that a fair hearing because I have concerns sometimes too. But on this bill we just can’t have it on there.”

“我提議讓他們過一段時間再提出來，我儘可能留出一個公平申辯的機會，因爲有時我自己也會有一些擔憂。但在這項法案上，我們真的不能把它扯進來。”

Tuesday’s vote scrambled partisan alliances that have dominated Congress in the Obama era. Democrats, opposing their own president, united around demands that trade promotion authority be paired with a series of other measures, not only to crack down on currency manipulation, but to assist workers displaced by globalization, tighten child labor law and fortify the government’s response to unfair trade practices.

週二的投票攪亂了在奧巴馬時代主導國會的黨派聯盟。反對本黨總統的民主黨人一致要求，將貿易促進權與其他舉措捆綁在一起，不只是打擊匯率操縱行爲，還要幫助因爲全球化發展而流離失所的工人，強化童工法，加強政府對不公平貿易行爲的應對。

Eight pro-trade Senate Democrats emerged from a strategy meeting at 1 to declare their opposition to the motion to take up the bill.

八名支持貿易的參議院民主黨人在結束了1點的一場策略會議後表示，他們反對這項旨在讓法案獲得討論的動議。

“This is a group that is thoroughly committed to getting this bill passed,” said Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee. But, he criticized “a lack of a commitment to trade enforcement.”

“這是一羣完全致力於幫助法案獲得通過的人，”俄勒岡州民主黨參議員、財政委員會(Finance Committee)資深民主黨人士羅恩·懷登(Ron Wyden)說。但他批評法案“在貿易執法方面缺乏承諾”。

Republicans were equally adamant that accelerated authority not be saddled with many of those demands. Republicans did say they will link trade promotion authority with an expansion of trade adjustment assistance — aid to workers who lose their jobs because of international competition.

共和黨人也同樣堅定地要求，加速達成協議的權力不應附帶其中的許多要求。共和黨人的確表示過他們將把貿易促進權與擴大貿易調整協助——爲由於國際競爭而失業的工人提供援助——聯繫起來。

But Republican leaders said they would go no further, at least at the outset, although Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, promised Democrats the chance to amend the legislation.

但共和黨領導人稱，他們不會推行進一步舉措，至少最開始不會，儘管肯塔基州共和黨參議員、多數黨領袖米奇·麥康奈爾(Mitch McConnell)曾承諾會給民主黨提供修改這項立法的機會。

“This is not a game. This is about trying to accomplish something important for the country that happens to be the president’s No. 1 domestic priority,” Mr. McConnell said.

麥康奈爾說，“這不是一場遊戲，這是關於要完成對於這個國家很重要的一件事，而這件事剛好又是奧巴馬總統排在第一位的國內要務。”

For Mr. Obama, the Democratic filibuster was a troubling defeat, after suffering through such tactics so many times at the hands of Republicans. Republican leaders placed the defeat at the president’s feet.

對於奧巴馬而言，民主黨的拖延戰術是個令人頭疼的挫敗，此前奧巴馬曾多次經歷共和黨採用這種策略來對付他的情況。共和黨領導人把失敗推到了奧巴馬身上。

“Ultimately it’s up to the president,” said Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the Senate’s No. 2 Republican. “Does the president of the United States have enough clout with members of his own political party?”

“這最終取決於總統，”得克薩斯州參議員、參議院共和黨第二號人物約翰·科寧(John Cornyn)說。“堂堂合衆國總統，對自己政黨的成員有足夠的影響力嗎？”

At the heart of Democrats’ demands is a measure that would force the government to respond when trading partners artificially depress the value of their currency to make their exports cheaper and United States exports more expensive.

民主黨的核心要求是，當貿易伙伴人爲地壓低本國貨幣價值以降低出口成本，並增加美國出口成本時，要迫使政府作出迴應。

Armed with trade promotion authority, Mr. Obama could complete negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, stretching from Canada and Chile to Japan and Australia, knowing that Congress could still kill a final agreement but could not amend or filibuster it. White House officials have said the Pacific trade accord cannot be completed without that authority.

有了貿易促進權，奧巴馬就能完成關於TPP的談判——該協議將囊括從加拿大和智利，再到日本和澳大利亞等國家——國會仍然有權否決最終協議，但不能修改它或對它採用拖延戰術。白宮官員曾表示，如果沒有貿易促進權，TPP將無法完成。

But if Democrats successfully force Mr. McConnell to include that currency measure in the trade promotion bill, the negotiations could collapse.

但是，如果民主黨成功迫使麥康奈爾把反匯率操縱措施囊括在這項促進貿易的提案之內，相關談判可能就會崩潰。

“I’m strongly against it,” said Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker.

商務部長彭妮·普利茨克(Penny Pritzker)說，“我對此表示強烈反對。”

The way forward is likely to be a negotiated package of trade-enforcement amendments that would be guaranteed a vote, Republican leadership aides said. Before talks collapsed Tuesday morning, talks on that amendment had begun, with Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, offering to drop the currency measure in exchange for a promised vote later this Congress.

共和黨領導層的助手錶示，未來很可能會通過一個經過談判的貿易執法修正案，來確保讓法案獲得投票機會。在週二上午談話崩潰之前，關於該修正案的談論已經開始，紐約州民主黨參議員查爾斯·舒默(Charles Schumer)提出放棄前述貨幣措施，以換取晚些時候在本屆國會的投票承諾。

But Mr. Hatch, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said it was not at all clear the pro-trade forces could resurrect the legislation.

但參議院財政委員會主席哈奇表示，目前根本不清楚支持貿易協議的一方是否能使這項立法復活。

“I don’t know where this goes,” he said.

“我不知道事情會如何發展，”他說。