評論
打印
But in NAFTA that process has been broken for years. After Mexico launched a dispute against America over sugar in 2000,
但在是NAFTA中，這一程序多年來就已遭破壞。2000年自墨西哥針對食糖對美國發起爭端后
America refused to fill vacancies on the roster, in effect blocking the dispute's resolution. There have been no state-to-state disputes within NAFTA since.
美國拒絕填補名單上的空缺，實際上是阻止調解糾紛。自那時起，NAFTA協議中再也沒有了國家與國家之間的紛爭。
Over time, other problems with this template have emerged, including the possibility for defending countries to slow down procedures.
隨時間流逝，因這種模式而產生的其他問題也出現了，包括為了保護本國而拖延程序。
A dispute over labour standards between America and Guatemala under a different trade deal, for example,
例如，美國和危地馬拉之間在不同貿易協議下就勞工標準產生糾紛，
was delayed temporarily when Guatemala claimed that the two had not agreed on the meaning of choosing the final panellist "by lot",
當危地馬拉宣稱兩國未就“抽簽”選擇最終組委成員的含義達成一致，
and demanded meetings before a panel could be picked. The concern is that the USMCA does not fix those problems,
并且要求在挑選小組成員前進行會談時，該紛爭就被暫時延期了。讓人擔憂的是USMCA不能解決那些問題，
and that this was intentional on the part of American negotiators. (There were attempts to fix them in the TPP.)
并且USMCA是由美國談判代表策劃的協議。（原本在TPP中修復這些問題的嘗試。）
Since NAFTA's enforcement mechanism broke down,
由于NAFTA的執行機制已癱瘓，
disputes that should fall under it have been taken to the World Trade Organisation instead. But the Trump administration is undermining that, too.
那么這些紛爭應該轉交給世界貿易組處理。但是特朗普政府也在暗中破壞。
Tough rules are painful when wielded against you, but useful when holding others to account.
當嚴厲的規則用來制約你時是痛苦的，但當由別人承擔責任時卻是有效的。
The Trump administration may think it can get the best of both worlds, by retaining its ability to block panels in case Mexico or Canada sue,
在墨西哥或加拿大的訴訟案中，通過保留阻礙事物委員會的能力
and by using the same bullying tactics as it has with China when it has a problem of its own.
以及當美國本國有問題時，通過使用對付中國的同一種霸凌策略，特朗普政府或許認為這樣可以戰勝兩種局面。
But bypassing the judges attached to the USMCA risks delegitimising American complaints about unfair trade practices.
但是回避隸屬USMCA的法官會讓美國的不公正交易行為投訴存在失去法律效力的風險。
By threatening a choice between the USMCA and the chaos of a lapsed NAFTA,
通過威脅國會在USMCA以及已失效的NAFTA之間做選擇，
Mr Trump wants to convince critics to ignore their worries that the new deal lacks teeth.
特朗普想要說服批評者忽略他們對新協議缺乏利爪的擔憂。
But if he terminates NAFTA he will face legal challenges from the private sector,
但是如果他終止NAFTA，那么他將面臨來自民營企業的挑戰，
in particular over his authority to withdraw from a trade deal without the approval of Congress.
尤其是他在未經國會批準退出一項貿易協議的情況下，對他權威的挑戰。
Who would win is uncertain. What is clear is that the fight over North American trade is not over.
誰是贏家還不確定。不過有一點很清楚—北美貿易戰爭還未結束。
譯文由可可原創，僅供學習交流使用，未經許可請勿轉載。
