美國以外TPP國家擬推進該貿易協定

Japan and 10 other countries were moving closer to a deal on pushing ahead with the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact without the US, in a sign of how Pacific Rim economies are moving on with globalisation despite resistance from Donald Trump.

日本和另外10個國家已更加接近就如下努力達成協議：在美國退出的情況下推進《跨太平洋夥伴關係協定》（Trans-Pacific Partnership，簡稱TPP）。這個跡象顯示太平洋地區經濟體決心在全球化道路上走下去，不受唐納德?特朗普(Donald Trump)的阻礙。

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was expected to join leaders from other TPP countries including Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam on Friday in declaring their commitment to the pact on the sidelines of a regional summit that Mr Trump is attending.

預計日本首相安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)週五將與其他TPP國家（包括澳大利亞、加拿大、智利、墨西哥、新西蘭、祕魯、新加坡和越南）的領導人一道，在特朗普也將參加的一個地區峯會的間隙宣佈他們決心推進TPP。

But chief negotiators were continuing to hash out the details late into the night in the Vietnamese beach resort of Da Nang with ministers from leading countries offering conflicting assessments of their progress.

但是，在越南海濱度假勝地峴港，首席談判代表們仍在爲了敲定細節而忙到深夜，而主要國家的部長們對他們的進展發表了相互矛盾的評估。

“The 11 nations were able to reach a ministerial agreement,” Toshimitsu Motegi, Japan’s economy minister, told reporters after talks with his fellow ministers ended in Da Nang late on Thursday. Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, Mexico’s economy minister, also confirmed to reporters that a deal had been struck, according to Reuters.

“11個國家能夠達成部長級協議，”日本內閣府特命擔當大臣（經濟財政政策）茂木敏充週四晚在結束與其他國家部長們的會議後對記者們表示。據路透社(Reuters)報道，墨西哥經濟部長伊爾德方索?瓜哈爾多?比利亞雷亞爾(Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal)也向記者們證實，各方已經達成協議。

But after reports of a deal emerged, Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s trade minister, turned to social media to declare that an agreement had yet to be concluded. “Despite reports, there is no agreement in principle on TPP,” he tweeted.

但是，在達成協議的報道發表後，加拿大貿易部長弗朗索瓦-菲利普?尚帕涅(Francois-Philippe Champagne)在社交媒體上宣佈，協議尚未達成。“儘管有相關報道，但各方並未就TPP達成原則上的協議。”他在Twitter上寫道。

According to people close to the talks, a final text was still being worked on, with issues including labour rules under discussion.

據知情人士透露，各方仍在斟酌最終文本，勞工規則等議題仍在討論中。

Some people briefed on the discussions told the Financial Times that any announcement by leaders on Friday may be an “agreement in principle”, with a few details still to be worked out. The remaining countries in the TPP have been tussling for months over how to suspend certain provisions that the US had insisted on without having to renegotiate a deal that took years to hash out.

聽取了討論簡報的一些人告訴英國《金融時報》，各國領導人週五可能宣佈一項“原則上的協議”，剩下一些細節有待敲定。美國以外的TPP國家已經艱苦了談判了好幾個月，焦點問題是如何中止當初美國堅持要求的某些條款，而不至於重新談判一份已經花了幾年時間談成的貿易協定。

But any announcement on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Da Nang would highlight the diverging paths on trade in the region and the growing isolation of the US, which is not part of any of the major regional trade initiatives being discussed.

但是，在峴港舉行的亞太經合組織(APEC)峯會間隙作出任何宣佈，都會明確表明在該地區貿易問題上的不同路線以及美國的日益孤立；美國沒有參與目前在討論中的任何重大地區貿易倡議。

Mr Trump pulled the US out of the TPP in January, on his first full working day in office, after lambasting it on the presidential campaign trail. But the move has been widely criticised in Washington and around the region as a strategic gift to China, which is at the centre of another regional agreement now being negotiated.

今年1月，特朗普在上任後的第一個完整工作日就讓美國退出TPP，此前他在競選總統期間就猛轟這一貿易協定。但他的這一舉措在華盛頓以及亞太地區受到廣泛批評，批評者稱，這無異於向中國奉送一份戰略禮物；中國置身於另一份正在談判中的地區協議的中心。

Barack Obama, Mr Trump’s predecessor, made the TPP the economic backbone of his “pivot” to Asia strategy and argued that in solidifying trade ties with countries such as Japan, Singapore and Vietnam it would mark a vital part of the long-term response to a rising China.

特朗普的前任巴拉克?奧巴馬(Barack Obama)把TPP當作其“轉向亞洲”戰略的經濟支柱，他主張，TPP將鞏固美國與日本、新加坡和越南等國家的貿易關係，從而服務於針對中國崛起的整體長遠對策。

In a speech on Friday at a business conference being held alongside the Apec summit, Mr Trump is due to lay out in greater detail his White House’s “Indo-Pacific” strategy for engaging the region economically.

特朗普週五將在與APEC峯會同場舉行的一個商業會議上發表講話，更詳細地介紹他執掌的白宮爲加強與該地區的經濟互動而制定的“印度洋-太平洋”戰略。

But during a trip to the region this week Mr Trump has failed to convince allies such as Japan to launch negotiations to reach new bilateral trade pacts, which the president has insisted would be a better alternative for the US.

但在本週訪問該地區期間，特朗普未能說服日本等盟國就達成新的雙邊貿易協定啓動相關談判；美國總統堅持認爲，雙邊貿易協定將是美國的更好選擇。