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加征关税让美企叫苦:除了中国,别无选择 !连《圣经》都可能缺货 | 外媒说

中国日报 2019-08-05

美国对华加征25%的关税,让本土各个领域的企业都感到吃不消。


就连美国人所尊崇的《圣经》都“难逃一劫”。据彭博社报道,对华加征25%的关税,或将导致美国国内出现圣经短缺的情况


彭博:出版商请求特朗普不再向中国征收“圣经税”

Publishers Plead with Trump Not to Impose a China 'Bible Tax'


加征关税,《圣经》或将短缺


6月17日-21日,美国政府就“3000亿美元关税”召开听证会。美国企业代表借此机会纷纷大吐苦水。


据美国贸易代表办公室发布的听证会议程显示,18日受邀参加的企业共48家,当天第二个板块是出版商专场。


18日听证会安排,第二板块全为出版商代表 图自美国贸易代表委员会

早前美方透露的3000亿美元对华关税清单收录了几乎所有的纸质印刷产品,其中包括《圣经》以及儿童读物。

美国企业和贸易小组官员在第二天听证会现场表示,拟征收关税的价值3000亿美元的中国商品包括印刷材料。这将尤其影响到《圣经》和儿童读物,这些书籍主要在中国生产,因为需要使用特殊纸张、印刷科技和技能。

Proposed tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese goods would include printed materials, which would especially affect Bibles and children's books predominantly produced in China because of the unique paper, printing technology and skills needed, company and trade group officials testified during the second day of a seven-day hearing on the proposed duties Tuesday.

HarperCollins基督教出版公司的CEO马克·肖沃德称,“我们相信政府并不清楚关税可能对《圣经》造成的潜在负面影响,也并不想对消费者和宗教团体征收‘圣经税’。”

"We believe the administration was unaware of the potential negative impact these proposed tariffs would have on Bibles and that it never intended to impose 'a Bible tax' on consumers and religious organizations," Mark Schoenwald, chief executive officer of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, told a panel of officials at the U.S. International Trade Commission.

事实上,政府拟征收的25%关税将导致继续印刷某些版本变得困难,印刷成本提高,造成《圣经》短缺,损害基督教书商的利益,并且影响到无法负担书费的教会、教堂、非盈利机构以及其他宗教组织。

A 25% tariff would make it difficult to continue printing some formats and raise prices, leading to a Bible shortage that would hurt the Christian bookseller market, as well as ministries, churches, nonprofits and other religious organizations that couldn’t afford them, Schoenwald said.

在美国这样一个信奉基督教尤其是新教的国家,一旦《圣经》短缺,将对国内社会带来非常重要的影响。


早在殖民地时期,从英国来到北美的清教徒们就引用《圣经》,将新英格兰地区(美国本土的东北部地区)比喻为“山巅之城”。


美国国歌《星条旗》歌词第二段中也多次歌颂“上帝的力量”,由这段歌词引申出的“我们信仰上帝”(In God We Trust)更成为美国的国家格言。


值得一提,占美国人口四分之一的基督教福音教徒,是特朗普选民基础中一股不容忽视的力量。据《华盛顿邮报》透露,其中白人福音教徒对特朗普的支持率更是高达78%。

《华盛顿邮报》2016年7月22日的文章《民调显示福音教徒支持特朗普,但“福音”这个词没有意义》称,近期的皮尤调查显示,78%的白人福音教徒(绝大多数福音教徒都是白人)将投票给特朗普。

And a recent Pew Research poll showed that 78 percent of white "evangelicals" — and an overwhelming majority of evangelicals are white — plan to vote for Trump this fall.

此外,这届白宫内阁中,副总统彭斯、国务卿蓬佩奥、能源部长佩里、教育部长德沃斯等人均为基督徒。特朗普上任后还在白宫内成立“圣经学习小组(Bible Study Group)”,为美国历史上近百年来首次。


白宫“圣经学习小组”在祈祷 图自新闻周刊

因此,参加听证会的基督教福音教派出版协会(ECPA)会长斯坦·詹兹表示,出版商们希望特朗普总统能够免除对《圣经》征收关税。

Trump has broad political support from evangelical Christians. Publishers are hoping he'll be receptive to sparing Bibles from tariffs, said Stan Jantz, head of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.

他说,“我知道这届政府对宗教自由领域有很大的兴趣,政府也支持获取宗教相关用品的自由。我们希望(白宫)能对书籍,尤其是《圣经》,保持公开的态度和强力的支持。”

"I know there’s a great interest in the area of religious freedom and access to religious goods on the part of the administration," Jantz said in an interview after his testimony. "We do hope that there would be an openness and strong consideration for Bibles in particular and also for books."

当地时间2014年11月4日,美国国会中期期间,夏洛特敦计票工作者在计票工作开始之前按着圣经发誓。图自视觉中国


美国儿童可读的书越来越少


受到关税波及的印刷品还包括儿童图书。


美国书商协会(ABA)主席菲亚克(Jamie Fiocco)指出,该机构出版商成员大约四分之一的书都由中国印制。其中,《圣经》以及儿童读物的印刷渠道“在很大程度上”都依赖于中国。


一方面,儿童图书需要的特殊技术和材料,只有中国印刷厂可以满足。

纽约Workman出版商CEO丹尼尔·雷诺德表示,由于一些儿童图书需要使用防水、无毒材料,以及中国在印刷设备上的投入优势明显,这些书籍只能在中国印刷,一时找不到可替代的印刷来源。

There also is no viable alternative to the U.S. children's books printed in China because of the waterproof and nontoxic materials used in some cases, as well as China's investment in recent decades in needed equipment, said Daniel Reynolds, CEO of Workman Publishing Co. in New York.


另一方面,美国出版商也曾想过逃离中国,选择本土印刷厂,但现实是,本土厂家无法满足巨大的印刷需求。

美国出版商协会(APA)全球政策部门副主席路易莎·辛普森称,美国出版商曾想过使用本土印刷厂,但自从上世纪80年代起,本土印刷厂就出现极端产量不足的情况。

Publishers try to use U.S. printers when possible, but capacity has become extremely constrained since the 1980s, said M. Luisa Simpson, vice president for global policy at the Association of American Publishers. 


因为该行业利润微薄,价格上涨意味着一些书籍将无法继续印刷,出版商可能会不停缩减规模,书店、学校和图书馆都会受到影响。

Because of thin margins in the industry, higher prices would mean some books would be discontinued, publishers might have to scale back, and book stores, schools and libraries would be affected, she said.

雷诺德担心,“一旦征收关税,美国儿童能读到的书将越来越少。”

"If tariffs are imposed, there will be fewer books available to American kids," he said.


美企:除了中国,我们别无选择


实际上,在关税听证会之前,美国贸易代表办公室就收到了多家美企的请愿书,请求放弃对3000亿美元中国商品加征25%关税计划。“因为除了中国,他们几乎别无选择。”

……they have few options besides China.

这些美国企业在请愿书中这样说道↓↓

美国婴儿门和床栏杆生产商Regalo International:其他国家的工厂相比中国差远了。


美国烟花表演公司Atlas PyroVision首席执行官佩尔基:找遍了全世界,没有一家供应商能生产出与中国烟花相媲美的替代品。


《华尔街日报》17日发表一篇题为《若真对中国征收关税,美国企业表示不买美国货》的文章称,受新关税影响的商品包括273类,比如烟花、渔线轮和电热毯等,这些商品从中国进口的比例超过90%。去年,从中国进口的此类商品价值663亿美元。

Items to be hit by new tariffs include 273 categories of goods—such as consumer fireworks, fishing reels and electric blankets—for which China accounts for more than 90% of imports. Last year, $66.3 billion worth of these items were imported from China.


征收25%的关税,将影响美国人生活的方方面面↓↓


➤ 烟花表演


总部位于美国新罕布什尔州的烟花表演公司Atlas PyroVision的CEO佩尔基表示,该公司几乎全部依靠从中国进口的烟花为城市提供烟花表演,并向消费者销售烟花产品。

Mr. Pelkey said, and it now relies almost solely on Chinese imports to stage municipal fireworks shows and to sell sparklers and other pyrotechnics to consumers.

佩尔基说,“如果能说,‘我将从美国企业采购所需的烟花材料’,那就太棒了。但这样的公司根本不存在”。

"It would be great if I could just say, 'I'm going to get my [fireworks] containers from U.S. companies,' " said Mr. Pelkey, chief executive of Atlas PyroVision Entertainment in Jaffrey, N.H. "They don't exist."

事实上,佩尔基曾在越南、柬埔寨、印度和墨西哥等国寻找供应商,但没有找到一家供应商能生产出达到中国质量标准的烟花。

Mr. Pelkey said he has looked for suppliers in countries including Vietnam, Cambodia, India and Mexico, and has yet to find one that can make fireworks of the quality he typically sees in China.

他认为,考虑到高昂的保险成本、爆炸装置制造的严格监管、持续数年的招聘和培训劳动力时间,美国烟花制造业复苏的可能性不大。

Mr. Pelkey said reviving the dormant U.S. fireworks manufacturing industry is unlikely, given the high costs of insurance and the tight regulation that comes with the manufacture of explosive devices. It would also take years to hire and train a workforce, he said.

(2018年7月4日,独立日烟火表演,纽约 图自视觉中国)


➤ 婴幼儿产品


婴儿安全门和婴儿床栏杆生产商Regalo International表示,18个月前美国对华发出加征关税威胁时,他们就立即去墨西哥等国寻找新的合作伙伴。

Company officials at baby-gate and bedrail maker Regalo International LLC told U.S. trade officials that the threat of tariffs 18 months ago prompted them to look for new manufacturing partners in Mexico and other foreign countries that may have pockets of cheaper labor.

但结果毫无收获。越南能承接木制品和纺织品订单,但“金属制造基础设施薄弱”。总之,这些工厂要不然不如中国物美价廉,要不然达不到产量需求。

But the search turned up short. Vietnam can handle orders for wood products and textiles but "has very weak infrastructure in metal fabrication," officials at the Minnesota company said in a letter. In general, factories couldn't match China's prices or keep up with production demands.


《华尔街日报》称,美国青少年产品制造商协会(the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association)正在游说美国贸易办公室,把婴儿产品从下一轮加征关税商品清单上移除,以便这些产品能维持实惠的价格。

Ms. Mariotti's organization is pushing trade officials to remove baby products from the next round of tariffs in an effort to keep them affordable.

在中美贸易摩擦背景下,美国母婴行业有能力增加产量的公司少之又少。包括汽车座椅、婴儿床、高脚椅、游戏床和婴儿车在内,美国公司销售的大多数婴儿产品都是亚洲生产。


该协会执行董事马里奥蒂说,“这些产品成本提高将给(美国)家庭增加不公平的负担,无疑会导致使用安全产品的婴幼儿数量减少。”

"Higher costs for these products will place an unfair burden on families that will undoubtedly result in fewer babies and toddlers having access to products critical to their safety," she said in a statement.


➤ 零售业


美国加征关税举措还招致美国商会、全美零售商联合会等众多企业团体的反对。包括沃尔玛、好市多、塔吉特在内的大型连锁超市曾在6月13日致信特朗普称,以一个美国四口之家为例,现行及拟议中的关税举措将导致每个家庭的年均开销增加2000美元。

The tariffs have also drawn opposition from broad coalitions of business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Retail Federation. In a letter to Mr. Trump on June 13, tariff opponents, including Walmart, Target Corp. and Costco Wholesale Corp. , said current and proposed tariffs would raise costs to a family of four by an average of $2,000 a year.


肯塔基州一家进口户外坐垫和人造圣诞树的零售商表示,“我们想告诉大家,零售领域正准备遭受重击。我们祈祷政府能听听上帝的意见。”



编辑:胡雨濛

中国日报(ID:chinadailywx)报道,部分参考观察者网、参考消息、环球网


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