美國批准鋼鐵生產商起訴中國競爭對手
The US has given the go-ahead for the country’s largest steel producer to sue Chinese rivals, in the first known case in which trade sanctions could be used in retaliation for alleged China government-backed hacking of commercial secrets.
美國官方已批准該國最大鋼鐵生產商起訴中國競爭對手，這是貿易制裁可能被用來報復據稱存在的中國政府支持的黑客竊取商業機密行爲的第一起已知案件。
The move comes ahead of a meeting of senior US and Chinese officials in Beijing next week. It highlights the increasingly aggressive tactics the US steel industry is using to fight back against the flood of cheap Chinese steel that has hit global markets in recent years, as well as the growing international concerns about industrial overcapacity in China.
美方做出上述舉動之際，美國和中國高級官員下週將在北京開會。它突顯了美國鋼鐵行業正使用越來越咄咄逼人的戰術反擊近年涌入全球市場的廉價中國鋼材，也突顯國際社會越來越擔憂中國的工業產能過剩問題。
Depending on the outcome the development could result in the next president authorising a blanket ban on imports of Chinese steel in retaliation for the alleged hacking.
取決於裁決結果，本案可能導致下一任總統授權在報復據稱的黑客行爲的名義下，全面禁止進口中國鋼材。
US Steel in late April filed the case under the US’s “Section 337” rule, which allows trade sanctions for intellectual property theft.
美國鋼鐵公司(US Steel) 4月下旬根據美國“337條款”規則提起本案，該項規則允許對知識產權盜竊行爲實行貿易制裁。
It alleged that some four dozen Chinese companies and their US subsidiaries had both acted as a cartel and benefited from the cyber theft of its production secrets.
該公司稱，四十多家中國公司及其在美國的子公司一方面像一個卡特爾那樣行事，另一方面獲益於對美國鋼鐵生產機密的網絡竊取。
In a decision last week the US International Trade Commission gave the go-ahead for the case to proceed, setting the stage for a legal battle that experts say will probably take more than a year for an administrative judge to decide.
美國國際貿易委員會(ITC)上週決定受理此案，從而爲一場法律戰搭起舞臺；專家們表示，本案可能需要一年多時間才能由一名行政法官作出裁決。
This timeframe could lead to a decision related to arguably the US’s most important commercial relationship early in the next president’s first term. Under the law US presidents are given 60 days to block ITC decisions on Section 337 cases, although according to the ITC “such disapprovals are rare”.
這個時間框架意味着，ITC可能要在下任總統第一任期之初做出一項牽涉到美國最重要經貿關係的裁決。美國總統依法有60天時間否美決ITC對337條款個案作出的裁決，儘管據ITC介紹，“這樣的否決很少見”。
Should he win November’s election, a decision in favour of US Steel could give Donald Trump, the Republican presumptive nominee, a way to deliver quickly on his campaign promises to crack down on China and its trade abuses. “If China wants to trade with America, they must agree to stop stealing and to play by the rules,” his campaign website declares.
如果共和黨推定總統候選人唐納德•特朗普(Donald Trump)贏得11月的大選，有利於美國鋼鐵公司的裁決可能讓他快速兌現反擊中國及其不當貿易行爲的競選承諾。“如果中國希望與美國開展貿易，他們就必須同意停止偷竊，並且遵守遊戲規則，”他的競選網站上宣告。
Such a decision by the ITC also could put Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner, in a difficult position should she win the presidency, leading to an early confrontation with Beijing over a politically sensitive industry.
如果民主黨領跑者希拉里•克林頓(Hillary Clinton)贏得總統選舉，ITC作出這樣的裁決可能把她置於一個棘手境地，使她在上任之初就圍繞一個政治敏感的行業與北京方面發生對抗。
US Steel claims it has widespread support from “local, state and federal officials, trade associations, customers and suppliers, employees, and our union brothers and sisters” for its case.
美國鋼鐵公司稱，它在本案上得到“地方、州和聯邦官員；行業協會；客戶和供應商；僱員以及我們的工會兄弟姐妹”的廣泛支持。
“We strongly believe that Chinese steel producers have engaged in illegal unfair methods of competition, which have created a force with which no market economy can compete,” Mario Longhi, the company’s president said in a statement welcoming the ITC decision.
“我們堅信，中國鋼鐵生產商以非法且不公平的手段進行競爭，形成了市場經濟不可能與其競爭的一股勢力，” 該公司總裁馬里奧•隆吉(Mario Longhi)在歡迎ITC受理案件決定的一份聲明中表示。
“We remain confident that the evidence will prove the Chinese steel producers engaged in collusion, theft and fraud and we will aggressively seek to stop those responsible for these illegal trade actions.”
“我們仍然相信，證據將證明中國鋼鐵生產商從事了合謀、盜竊和欺詐，我們將積極尋求阻止要對此類非法貿易行爲負責的那些人。”
Trade lawyers say the case is a novel response to China’s alleged hacking. The alleged cyber attack on US Steel was among those included in a 2014 criminal case brought by the US justice department against five Chinese military officers.
貿易律師們表示，本案是針對中國據稱從事的黑客行爲的一種新穎迴應。美國司法部(DoJ) 2014年對五名中國軍官提出刑事指控時，曾提到他們涉嫌對美國鋼鐵發起網絡攻擊。
