紐時賞析／川普貿易戰的風暴中心

This Is Ground Zero in Trump’s Trade War

川普貿易戰震央在此

Normally, the crane in the Everport Terminal at the Port of Los Angeles would be busy unloading container ships. Longshoremen below would flit around in “bomb carts” used to ferry containers from the ship. Big rigs would carry off imported furniture, car parts and clothing to other parts of the country.

在洛杉磯港的永港碼頭，吊車平常會忙著卸下貨櫃船上的貨物。底下的碼頭工人則會駕駛平板拖車，負責將貨櫃從船上轉運到陸地。大型貨車會再把這些進口家具、汽車零件和衣物運往全美各地。

But on a recent Thursday morning, the 300-foot crane sat idle, a casualty of the tariffs that President Donald Trump has imposed to curb foreign trade.

但在最近一個星期四早上，這座高達300英尺的吊車靜靜地停擺，成為總統川普為了限制外國貿易而加徵關稅政策的受害者。

The Port of Los Angeles, along with a nearby facility in Long Beach, makes up a shipping complex that stretches across nearly 75 miles of Southern California shoreline. The ports are a bellwether for trade and the U.S. economy. Together, they move an astonishing 40% of the goods that come into the United States via containers. They also account for 30% of what the country exports.

洛杉磯港與鄰近的長灘港共同組成了一個沿著南加州海岸延伸近75英里的龐大航運樞紐。這兩座港口被視為美國貿易與經濟的風向球。它們合計處理了全美40%透過貨櫃進口的商品，也占美國出口總量的30%。

As Trump’s chaotic and aggressive tariff strategy has seesawed this year, activity here has, too, threatening the livelihood of the roughly 100,000 workers at the port complex and complicating life for the hundreds of thousands of companies that bring goods through the port each year. The trends at the port hint at the pain that will ripple through the broader economy in the coming months as fewer and higher-priced goods travel from ports and warehouses to U.S. stores and consumers.

隨著川普實施的關稅政策搖擺不定、動輒大幅調整，港口的作業量也跟著起伏不定，這不僅威脅到大約10萬名港區勞工的生計，也讓每年經由此地進出口的數十萬家企業面臨更大的營運挑戰。港口的趨勢預示著，美國經濟在接下來幾個月可能會遭遇更廣泛的衝擊，因為經由港口與倉庫運往美國各地商店與消費者手中的商品，將變得更少、價格更高。

The ports experienced a surge of activity this year when shippers rushed to bring in goods before tariffs that reached their highest levels in a century. That rush has faded.

今年稍早，當貨運業者為了趕在百年來最高關稅生效前搶運貨物時，南加州港口一度湧現作業高峰。但這波搶運潮如今已經退燒。

Most arrivals to the Southern California ports come from China. After Trump ratcheted up tariffs on Chinese goods to at least 145% in April, many shipments between the world’s two largest economies came to a halt.

目前大多數進入南加州港口的貨物都來自中國。在川普於4月將中國商品關稅提高至至少145%之後，這兩個全球最大經濟體之間的許多貨運往來陷入停滯。

From March to April, U.S. imports and the trade deficit plummeted by the biggest volume on record. In the roughly four weeks that the 145% tariffs were in effect, future bookings to send shipping containers from China to the United States plunged by half from a year earlier.

從3月到4月，美國進口總量與貿易赤字出現有史以來最大幅度下滑。在145%關稅生效的4周內，從中國運往美國的貨櫃預訂量與去年同期相比銳減一半。

In May, Chinese exports to the United States were down roughly 35% from a year earlier. For the Port of Los Angeles in particular, May was the slowest month in more than two years.

到5月，中國對美出口量也比去年同期下滑約35%。就洛杉磯港而言，5月成為2年多來最冷清的一個月。

Economists say the higher cost for imports could filter more noticeably into prices in stores later this year. Consumer demand could also weaken.

經濟學家指出，進口成本上升的影響可能會在今年稍晚更加明顯地反映在商店售價上，並可能進一步削弱消費者的購買需求。

文／Ana Swanson　譯／國際中心

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【張佑生】

標題的ground zero通常以單數型態呈現，最初指的是核彈爆炸的地點；2001年紐約911恐攻後世貿中心的遺址也稱Ground Zero：Ground zero has become a tourist landmark.報導強調洛杉磯港是貿易戰經濟影響的「震央」，表明該港口是關稅政策後果最顯著、最直接顯現的地方，理解成重災區、風暴中心都可以。

核爆後果毀天滅地，一切從頭開始：We're going to have to go right back to ground zero [=square one] and start all over again.易言之，洛杉磯港也是爭端後果顯現的開端。

動詞片語ratchet something up原意是逐漸微幅增加，但在新聞英文指的是增加固定數量或程度，且不太可能回降：Audiences' expectations are ratcheted up as they are exposed to high-budget productions. 觀眾胃口被養大，回不去了。動漫《名偵探柯南》今夏有辦法推第28部，想必深諳此道。