美国《福布斯》杂志网站21日刊文称,美国日前宣布对中国的电动汽车、太阳能电池等产品加征高额关税,引发了环保组织、行业观察家及分析师的广泛批评。专家普遍认为,这一行动不仅无助于推动美国的能源转型,反而会阻碍美国汽车工业的未来发展。文章摘编如下:
With the US many years behind China both in terms of EV development and renewable energy manufacturing, experts said they found it unlikely that simply buying more time would help spur the nation's—and the world's—all-important drive away from fossil fuels, which the scientific community has repeatedly said is essential if humanity is to avoid catastrophic warming. Earlier in May, meteorologists warned that fossil-fueled climate change made April 2024 the 11th consecutive month for record-breaking heat, globally—a phenomenon never before seen in human history.
由于美国在电动汽车研发和可再生能源制造业方面落后于中国多年,专家们表示,仅仅争取更多的时间或无助于刺激美国和全球摆脱化石燃料,科学界一再呼吁,如果人类要避免灾难性的全球变暖,化石燃料是关键。5月早些时候,气象学家警告称,化石燃料引发的气候变化使2024年4月成为全球连续第11个月出现破纪录高温的月份,这是人类历史上前所未有的现象。
Speaking to media, Daniel Becker of the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity, said the trade tariffs could have the same effect as the protectionism of the 1970s, in which competition against Japanese manufacturers ultimately led to the ruin of the US auto industry. "If General Motors, Ford and Stellantis don’t have to compete against foreign companies that make EVs, they won't make them.” Becker said.
环保组织生物多样性中心的丹尼尔·贝克尔在接受媒体采访时表示,美国此举可能与20世纪70年代保护主义产生相同的影响,当时美国与日本制造商的竞争最终导致了美国汽车业的毁灭。贝克尔表示:“如果通用汽车、福特和斯特兰蒂斯不必与生产电动汽车的外国公司竞争,他们就不会生产电动汽车。”
Industry observers agreed: American auto industry executive Bill Russo said in an interview that Biden's action condemns US manufacturers to "a slow but certain death." Without stiff competition, Russo said, American carmakers will remain "stuck to the profits of the oil- and gas-powered economy."
行业观察人士对此表示认同:美国汽车行业高管比尔·拉索在接受采访时表示,美国政府采取的行动必将导致美国汽车制造商“缓慢消亡”。拉索表示,如果没有激烈的竞争,美国汽车制造商将继续“坚守石油和天然气的经济利润”。
Elsewhere, the CEO of German giant Siemens Energy, Christian Bruch, warned that "energy transition without China doesn't work," and that "trying to build a wind turbine without any Chinese supply will be close to impossible." Meanwhile, commentators such as Steven Rattner, writing in the New York Times, noted that most of the available research on tariffs finds that they both raise prices for consumers and, far from safeguarding employment, usually result in job losses.
此外,德国巨头西门子能源首席执行官克里斯蒂安·布鲁赫警告称,“没有中国的能源转型是行不通的”,“试图在没有任何中国供应的情况下建造一台风力涡轮机几乎是不可能的。”史蒂文·拉特纳等评论员也在《纽约时报》上撰文指出,大多数现有的关税研究发现,关税不仅提高了消费者价格,而且非但不能保障就业,通常还会导致失业。
英文来源:Forbes
编辑:董静
审校:陈丹妮 韩鹤