法國抨擊美元在國際交易中的支配地位

France’s political and business establishment has hit out against the hegemony of the dollar in international transactions following a $9bn fine handed out by US authorities to BNP Paribas for helping countries such as Sudan avoid US sanctions.

法國政界和商界人士抨擊美元在國際交易中的支配地位。此前，美國當局以法國巴黎銀行(BNP Paribas)幫助蘇丹等國家逃避美國製裁爲由，對其處以90億美元罰款。

In an interview with the Financial Times, Michel Sapin, the French finance minister, called for a “rebalancing” of the currencies used for global payments, saying that the BNP Paribas case should “make us realise the necessity of using a variety of currencies”.

法國財政部長米歇爾•薩潘(Michel Sapin)在接受英國《金融時報》採訪時，呼籲對國際支付中使用的貨幣進行“再平衡”。薩潘還表示，法國巴黎銀行受罰應該“促使我們意識到有必要使用多種貨幣”。

“We [Europeans] are selling to ourselves in dollars, for instance when we sell planes. Is that necessary? I don’t think so,” he said on the sidelines of a weekend economics conference.

他在週末的一個經濟會議間隙表示，“我們（歐洲國家）在相互出售飛機等商品時也用美元結算。這有必要嗎？我不覺得必要”。

“A rebalancing is possible and necessary, not just regarding the euro but also for the big currencies of the emerging countries, which account for more and more of global trade.”

“再平衡既是可能的，也是必要的，不僅是就歐元而言，對於新興國家中的主要貨幣也是如此。後者在全球貿易中所佔比例越來越大。”

Christophe de Margerie, the chief executive of Total, France’s largest company by market capitalisation, said he saw no reason for oil purchases to be made in dollars, even if the benchmark price in dollars was likely to remain.

法國市值最大的公司道達爾(Total)首席執行官馬哲睿(Christophe de Margerie)表示，他覺得即便基準價格很可能繼續採用美元，但石油採購沒有理由一定要用美元。

“The price of a barrel of oil is quoted in dollars,” he said. “A refinery can take that price and using the euro-dollar exchange rate on any given day, agree to make the payment in euros.”

他說：“即便油價以美元報價，煉油廠也能根據那個價格，在任何日子使用歐元兌美元的匯率，同意以歐元支付。”

One chief executive of a CAC 40 industrial group said he supported Mr Sapin’s push. “Companies like ours are in a bind because we sell a lot in dollars, but we do not always want to deal with all the US rules and regulations,” he said.

身爲法國CAC40指數成分股的某工業公司的首席執行官表示，他支持薩潘的呼籲。他說：“比如我們公司就處於一種困境，因爲我們以美元出售很多東西，但我們未必總希望對付繁雜的美國監管規定。”

The uproar over the BNP fine at the usually sedate Cercle des Economistes conference in Aix-en-Provence highlighted what has become yet another friction point in transatlantic relations.

在普羅旺斯地區艾克斯舉行的年度經濟學家會議(Cercle des Economistes)一反往年的平靜，各方就法國巴黎銀行被罰一事展開熱烈辯論。這凸顯出跨大西洋關係中的又一個摩擦點。

French officials lobbied heavily on behalf of the country’s largest bank and argued BNP broke no European rules, prompting a debate about whether it had been the victim of US judicial over-reach.

法國官員曾努力爲該國最大銀行遊說，辯稱法國巴黎銀行並沒有觸犯歐洲的任何規則，這引發了一場辯論，焦點是該行是否成爲了美國在司法管轄方面把手伸得太長的受害者。

Mr Sapin said he would raise the need for a weightier alternative to the dollar with fellow euro-area finance ministers when they meet in Brussels today. He declined to go into detail about what practical steps might be taken.

薩潘表示，今日在布魯塞爾同歐元區其他國家的財長開會時，他將提出需要一種更有份量的方案來替代美元。他拒絕透露具體可能會採取哪些措施。

More than half of cross-border loans and deposits are transacted in dollars, and in the last global survey of the $5tn a day foreign exchange market, the dollar was on one side of 87 per cent of all trades.

逾一半跨境貸款和存款以美元交易，而最近一次全球調查顯示，在每日交易量達5萬億美元的外匯市場，有87%的交易以美元爲交易對象。

Despite recent efforts to diversify, many central banks say that they still see no real alternative to the safety and liquidity of the US Treasury market, and hold more than 60 per cent of their reserves in dollars.

儘管近來採取了一些旨在實現多元化的舉措，但許多央行表示，它們仍未找到能夠真正在安全和流動性方面替代美國國債市場的產品，它們的外匯儲備中仍有60%以上是美元資產。

A senior French official cast doubt on the government’s ability to stimulate the further use of the euro in international trade: “In the end it is hard to know what they can really do. The market really decides these things.”

一位法國高官對政府能否推動在國際貿易中更多使用歐元表示懷疑：“最終而言，很難想象他們到底能做些什麼。這些事其實是由市場決定的。”