加拿大將美國訴至世貿組織

Canada is taking the US to the World Trade Organization over what it says are illegal flaws in its trade enforcement system, ratcheting up a bitter fight with the Trump administration by targeting one of Washington’s main trade weapons.

加拿大已將美國訴至世界貿易組織(WTO)，稱后者的貿易執(zhí)法體系存在違法缺陷。此舉升級了加拿大同特朗普政府的激烈抗爭，將矛頭指向華盛頓的主要貿易武器之一。

The move to open a wide-ranging challenge against the US anti-dumping system comes just days ahead of a crucial round of talks over the Trump administration’s efforts to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico. One of the elements of Nafta that Canada is seeking to defend is a special dispute system that allows it to challenge US anti-dumping rulings.

特朗普政府試圖與加拿大和墨西哥重新談判《北美自由貿易協定》(NAFTA)，在一輪至關重要的談判開始前幾天，加拿大發(fā)起了針對美國反傾銷體系的大范圍挑戰(zhàn)。加拿大尋求保留的《北美自由貿易協定》條款之一，就是一項能夠讓其挑戰(zhàn)美國反傾銷裁決的特殊爭端機制。

It also comes as am increasing number of US actions are targeting what it claims are subsidised and dumped imports from Canada ranging from Bombardier jets to lumber. In the latest such case the US Commerce Department announced on Wednesday that it was imposing tariffs on imports of Canadian paper worth $1.3bn last year that it claimed benefited from illegal subsidies.

加拿大此舉的另一背景是，美國越來越多地針對其所稱的在補貼之下傾銷的加拿大輸美產品——從龐巴迪(Bombardier)噴氣飛機到木材——采取行動。最近一例是美國商務部周三宣布，將對從加拿大進口的紙品(去年價值13億美元)征收關稅，美方聲稱這些產品獲益于非法補貼。

The Trump administration reacted angrily to Ottawa’s request for consultations, which was lodged at the WTO last month but released publicly on Wednesday.

特朗普政府對渥太華方面的磋商請求作出了憤怒回應，該請求已于上月提交世貿組織，但在本周三才公布。

“Canada’s new request for consultations at the WTO is a broad and ill-advised attack on the US trade remedies system,” Robert Lighthizer, Mr Trump’s trade tsar, said in a statement. “Canada’s claims are unfounded and could only lower US confidence that Canada is committed to mutually beneficial trade.”

“加拿大在世貿組織新提出的磋商要求，是對美國貿易救濟體系寬泛而不明智的攻擊，”特朗普手下的美國貿易代表羅伯特•萊特希澤(Robert Lighthizer)在一份聲明中表示，“加拿大的指控毫無根據，并且只會降低美國對加拿大致力于互惠貿易的信心。”

Were Canada to win, Mr Lighthizer said, it would mainly benefit other countries and open the door to a flood of imports from China. “Canada’s claims threaten the ability of all countries to defend their workers against unfair trade,” he added. “Canada’s complaint is bad for Canada.”

萊特希澤表示，如果加拿大勝訴，得到好處的將主要是其他國家，為中國商品大量涌入美國打開大門。“加拿大的主張威脅到所有國家保護本國工人免遭不公平貿易傷害的能力，”他補充道，“加拿大的申訴對加拿大不利。”