美国政府不排除援助西屋电气

The WHite House has not ruled out providing government support for Westinghouse, the bankrupt US nuclear group, as the Trump administration works to ensure that the US remains a force in the nuclear industry.

白宫没有排除向破产的美国核能集团西屋电气(Westinghouse)提供政府支持的可能性，唐纳德?特朗普(Donald Trump)政府正致力于确保美国仍在核工业领域占据一席之地。

A senior White House official said the administration is holding regular discussions about Westinghouse since the company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in March. Officials are trying to find a buyer for Westinghouse to ensure it does not fall into Chinese or Russian hands, but the White House is aware that without an acceptable private-sector solution the group may need government help to remain under US control.

一位白宫高级官员表示，自西屋电气今年3月进入美国破产法第11章(Chapter 11)的破产程序以来，特朗普政府一直在围绕该公司展开定期讨论。官员们正尝试为西屋电气寻找买家，以确保其不会落入中国人或俄罗斯人之手，但白宫明白，在缺乏一项可接受的私营部门解决方案的情况下，该集团或将需要政府援助才可确保其处于美国控制之下。

“There’s always possibility,” the White House official said when asked whether the administration would consider providing federal help. “We clearly have been having discussions in the White House about Westinghouse and about the future of nuclear and the future of having more than one US-based nuclear power manufacturer.”

在被问及政府是否会考虑提供联邦政府援助时，上述白宫官员表示：“可能性一直存在。我们显然一直在白宫就西屋电气、核工业的未来以及未来拥有不止一家美国本土核能设备制造商的前景进行讨论。”

Westinghouse is one of only two big US nuclear engineering companies, along with General Electric, which has a joint venture with Hitachi of Japan. The White House has concerns about the economic impact of losing a technology exporter, and national security concerns that range from technology transfer issues to the fact that Westinghouse supplies technology for US Navy nuclear submarines.

西屋电气与通用电气(General Electric)是美国仅有的两家大型核能工程公司，后者与日本的日立(Hitachi)成立了一家合资公司。白宫既担心失去一家技术出口商造成的经济影响，也有国家安全方面的担忧——从技术转让问题到西屋电气为美国海军核潜艇提供技术这一事实。

The US is not concerned that Westinghouse is owned by Toshiba since Japan is a strong ally. But the companies most likely to be interested in buying Westinghouse’s nuclear business include groups from China and Russia, which has sparked concern. One administration official said the Trump team had been “engaging with potential buyers and investors” to find a solution that would not endanger US national security.

日本是美国得力盟友，所以美国并不担心西屋电气归于东芝(Toshiba)旗下。但最有可能对收购西屋电气核业务感兴趣的公司包括来自中国和俄罗斯的集团，这引发了担忧。一名美国政府官员表示，特朗普团队一直在“与潜在买家和投资者接触”，以期找到一种不会危及美国国家安全的解决方案。

President Donald Trump is expected to address the importance of the US nuclear industry on Thursday when he unveils his energy policy. Ahead of the speech, Rick Perry, US energy secretary, told the Financial Times and other media outlets that America needed to ensure it remained technologically and economically engaged with nuclear power. “If we do not, then China and Russia will fill that void,” he warned.

预计特朗普总统将在周四公布自己的能源政策时阐述美国核工业的重要性。在特朗普演讲之前，美国能源部长里克?佩里(Rick Perry)对英国《金融时报》等媒体表示，美国需要确保自身在技术上和经济上继续发展核能。“如果我们不这么做，那么中国和俄罗斯将填补进来，”他警告称。

Mr Perry stressed that the debate over how to deal with Westinghouse was broader than the company. “It’s a lot bigger than just making sure that Westinghouse continues to be a stable American company,” he said. “This is a massively important issue for the security of America and the security for America’s allies.”

佩里强调，关于如何处置西屋电气的争论不仅关乎这一家公司。“事情比仅仅确保西屋电气继续作为一家稳固的美国公司要重大，”他说，“对美国及美国盟友的安全而言，这是一个极为重要的问题。”

The US nuclear industry’s future has been cast into doubt by the financial crisis at Westinghouse. The only new commercial reactors under construction in the US are four Westinghouse AP1000s being built in Georgia and South Carolina.

西屋电气的财务危机引发了外界对美国核工业前景的质疑。美国目前在建的新商业反应堆只有正在佐治亚州和南卡罗来纳州建造的四座西屋电气AP1000型核反应堆。

Work at the sites is continuing for now, thanks to guarantees from Toshiba. But experts say those commitments may not be enough to pay for the reactors to be completed. Failure to finish construction would deal a serious blow to Westinghouse’s hopes of selling reactors overseas.

幸亏有东芝的担保，目前这些反应堆的建设仍在继续。但专家表示，东芝承诺的资金可能不足以支付这些反应堆建成的费用。无法竣工将严重打击西屋电气出口反应堆的愿望。

It would also damage Mr Trump’s hopes of boosting exports of energy and related technology to create jobs in America — a message that the president will stress when he addresses the issue of US “energy dominance” on Thursday.

同时这也会打击特朗普促进能源及相关技术出口、为美国创造就业的愿望——特朗普周四就美国“能源优势”(energy dominance)问题发表演讲时将强调这一点。

Gary Cohn, head of the White House national economic council, said Mr Trump would speak about “the importance of energy, how it fits in with our domestic economy, how it fits in with jobs, how it fits in with being a force for good at home and abroad, the fact that we’re getting to energy independence, that we can export energy to the world and be part of a global energy market economy”.

白宫国家经济委员会主席加里?科恩(Gary Cohn)表示，特朗普将谈及“能源的重要性，它如何与我们的国内经济相切合，如何与就业创造相切合，如何与成为对国内外都有益的力量相切合，还有一个事实，即美国正在实现能源独立，能够向世界出口能源并成为全球能源市场经济的一部分”。

Mr Trump will talk about boosting LNG exports — particularly to energy-hungry nations in Asia such as Japan, India and China. Mr Cohn said that while the LNG business was a private enterprise, the government could help on the regulatory front.

特朗普将谈及扩大液化天然气(LNG)出口——尤其是面向日本、印度、中国等能源需求旺盛的亚洲国家。科恩表示，虽然液化天然气业务是私营业务，但政府可以在监管方面提供帮助。

“The federal government owns basically nothing. We just regulate it all. So we can make the regulatory process much more efficient, much smoother, and very quick,” he said.

“联邦政府基本上不拥有任何东西。我们只是进行监管。因此，我们可以让监管过程变得更高效、更顺畅、更快捷，”他说。

While some officials tout LNG and Mr Trump has talked about reinvigorating the US coal industry, the White House official said all forms of energy should compete “without potential government subsidies or tax credits”.

虽然一些官员称赞液化天然气而特朗普也在谈论重振美国煤炭行业，但上述白宫官员表示，所有形式的能源都应“在没有政府潜在补贴或税收减免的情况下”进行竞争。

The US wind and solar power industries have gained from tax credits for several years, but the administration intends to let them phase out, under a plan set by Congress in 2015.

美国风能和太阳能产业多年来一直享受税收减免，但根据国会2015年制定的一项计划，政府打算逐步取消相关政策。

Despite tensions between the US and its neighbours over a range of trade issues, the Trump administration is embracing the idea that Mexico and Canada form a single regional energy market with the US.

虽然美国与邻国在一系列贸易问题上关系紧张，但特朗普政府正接受这样的理念，即墨西哥、加拿大可以与美国组成一个单一的区域能源市场。

The White House official said the two neighbouring countries were crucial because of the way their power grids and pipelines connected with the US. “The energy markets are looking at North America as one homogenised market with free border transportation through pipes and wires,” he said.

上述白宫官员表示，这两个邻国之所以重要，是因为它们的电网和能源管道与美国相连。他说：“能源市场正将北美看作一个可通过管道和电线自由跨境输送的统一市场。”

The balance of US-Mexico energy trade has flipped in recent years. For a long time, the relationship was defined by Mexican sales of crude oil to the US. But in 2015 and 2016, the value of US energy exports to Mexico including natural gas exceeded the value of imports from Mexico, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

美墨之间能源贸易的平衡近年来出现了反转。过去很长一段时间都是墨西哥向美国出售原油。但根据美国能源情报署(US Energy Information Administration)的数据，2015年和2016年，美国对墨西哥能源出口（包括天然气）的价值超过了从墨西哥进口能源的价值。

Mr Cohn said the shift was due to improved infrastructure and transportation routes. “Why has Mexico become such a big taker of US gas? Pipelines,” he said. “We just connected in all the pipelines in the last couple of years. It’s all transportation. The demand’s been there. We just had to get to it.”

科恩表示，这一转变应归功于基础设施和运输路线的改善。“为什么墨西哥会成为美国天然气如此大的买家？管道，”他说，“过去几年，我们刚刚把所有管道连接起来。关键在于运输。需求早已存在。我们只需满足这些需求。”