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France and Germany’s economy ministers will ask the US to lay off making “aggressive” overtures to European companies in a bid to lure their green investments across the Atlantic, French officials said ahead of a visit to Washington this week.
法国官员在本周访问华盛顿之前表示,法国和德国的经济部长将要求美国停止对欧洲企业做出“咄咄逼人”的姿态,试图吸引它们在大西洋彼岸进行绿色投资。
France’s Bruno Le Maire and Germany’s Robert Habeck are due to hold talks with White House officials on Tuesday to underscore EU concerns about President Joe Biden’s landmark climate legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, and push for better co-operation.
法国的布鲁诺•勒梅尔(Bruno Le Maire)和德国的罗伯特•哈贝克(Robert Habeck)将于周二与白宫官员举行会谈,以强调欧盟对美国总统乔•拜登(Joe Biden)里程碑式的气候立法《降低通胀法》(Inflation Reduction Act)的担忧,并推动双方加强合作。
The $370bn US package, which contains hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies for green tech, aims to bolster investment in everything from electric carmakers to renewable energy producers. The bill, originally intended to challenge China’s dominance of green tech, is conditioned on manufacturing being local, which has sparked fears that a growing number of businesses considering investments in Europe would pivot to the US instead.
这份3700亿美元的美国刺激计划,包括数千亿美元的绿色科技补贴,旨在提振对电动汽车制造商、可再生能源生产商等各个领域的投资。该法案最初的目的是挑战中国在绿色科技领域的主导地位,其提供补贴的前提是制造业必须本地化,这引发了欧洲人的担忧,即越来越多考虑在欧洲投资的企业将转向美国。
Le Maire and Habeck will ask the US not to go above and beyond that framework by actively trying to poach EU businesses, the French officials said. Representatives of economic bodies from several US states including Michigan and Ohio toured Europe in recent months to tout the incentives.
该法国官员表示,勒梅尔和哈贝克将要求美国不要超越这一框架,积极试图挖走欧盟企业。近几个月来,密歇根州和俄亥俄州等美国几个州的经济机构代表访问欧洲各地,宣传这些激励措施。
“What we’re looking for are not only exemptions, but also to have a mutual understanding to avoid a subsidies race and also to avoid aggressive tactics involving the US administration going to see European companies to ask them if they want to move their factories to the US,” one of the French officials said. “You don’t do that among friends.”
一名法国官员表示:“我们寻求的不仅是豁免,还包括达成一项相互理解,以避免补贴竞赛,并避免咄咄逼人的策略,即美国政府去拜访欧洲企业,询问它们是否愿意将工厂迁往美国。朋友之间不能这么做。”
There was “enough room for everyone”, the second official added.
这名官员补充称,“有足够的空间容纳所有人”。
During their joint trip to Washington, Habeck and Le Maire will meet US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen, trade representative Katherine Tai and commerce secretary Gina Raimondo.
在哈贝克和勒梅尔联合访问华盛顿期间,他们将会见美国财政部长珍妮特•耶伦(Janet Yellen)、贸易代表戴琪(Katherine Tai)和商务部长吉娜•雷蒙多(Gina Raimondo)。
The EU has repeatedly pressed for exemptions to the US climate package to help some European businesses benefit from the subsidies without uprooting their production. Lower energy costs in the US, which is less directly exposed to the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on global markets for oil and gas, are also making that market more attractive for some manufacturers.
欧盟一再要求在美国气候补贴计划之中取得豁免,帮助一些欧洲企业在不转移生产的情况下受益于这些补贴。俄罗斯入侵乌克兰影响了全球石油和天然气市场,但美国所受的直接影响较小,因此美国能源成本下降,也使其市场对一些制造商更具吸引力。
The Le Maire and Habeck visit, billed in part as a show of unity between France and Germany at a time when relations have been strained by the energy crisis in Europe and the fallout from the Ukraine war, is unlikely to yield much in terms of extra wriggle-room, the officials said.
官员们表示,勒梅尔和哈贝克的访问不太可能产生太多额外的回旋空间。此次访问在一定程度上被宣传为,在欧洲能源危机和乌克兰战争余波导致法德关系紧张之际展示两国团结的表现。
The main exemption obtained so far allows electric cars built outside North America to qualify for some of the tax credits offered to US drivers, a shift that could benefit German auto manufacturers in particular.
迄今为止获得的主要豁免允许北美以外地区生产的电动汽车有资格享受美国司机享受的部分税收抵免,这一转变可能尤其有利于德国汽车制造商。
German officials have expressed concern that some in the US Congress want to revisit the compromise on electric cars. “There have been efforts made by some to reopen it and we want to signal how important it is for us that this agreement is preserved,” said one.
德国官员对美国国会中一些人希望重新审议有关电动汽车的妥协表示担忧。其中一名官员表示:“一些人一直在努力重启谈判,我们希望表明,维护这项协议对我们有多么重要。”
Habeck and Le Maire also hope to persuade the US to show more flexibility when it comes to local production requirements contained in the IRA for critical materials used in electric car batteries, German and French officials said — one area where there are already co-operation treaties between the EU and the US. They will also press for transparency on the level of US subsidies handed out to businesses, which could allow the EU to match some of the incentives.
德国和法国官员表示,哈贝克和勒梅尔还希望说服美国,在《降低通胀法》中对电动汽车电池关键材料的本地生产要求方面表现出更大灵活性。欧盟和美国已经在这一领域签署了合作条约。他们还将敦促美国提高企业补贴水平的透明度,这可能使欧盟能够提供与美国的一些激励措施相匹配的补贴。
The European Commission is generally in charge of trade policy for the bloc. However, a German official noted that it was “very important that [France and Germany] explain [to the US] from a national perspective what kind of effect the IRA could have on us, and the challenge that it presents”, he said.
欧盟委员会(European Commission)通常负责欧盟的贸易政策。然而,一名德国官员指出,“非常重要的是,(法国和德国)应从国家角度向(美国)解释《降低通胀法》可能对我们造成什么样的影响,以及它带来的挑战”。
The EU is preparing its own response to the US climate programme, which includes loosening restrictions on subsidies in Europe and extra funding for green tech businesses.
欧盟正在准备自己对美国气候计划的回应,其中包括放松对欧洲补贴的限制,以及为绿色科技企业提供额外资金。