A surge in imports from China pushed the US trade gap sharply higher in May, adding to a stream of weak data for the Obama administration already under pressure over the economy and stagnant jobs market.

　　在來(lái)自中國(guó)進(jìn)口激增的推動(dòng)下，美國(guó)5月份的貿(mào)易逆差大幅擴(kuò)大。已因經(jīng)濟(jì)和就業(yè)市場(chǎng)低迷而承壓的奧巴馬(Obama)政府，又迎來(lái)了一連串疲弱數(shù)據(jù)中的最新一個(gè)。

　　The trade deficit grew by 4.8 per cent to $42.3bn, according to commerce department figures, the highest since November 2008 and at odds with the consensus of economists, who forecast the gap would shrink in May.

　　美國(guó)商務(wù)部的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，美國(guó)5月份的貿(mào)易逆差擴(kuò)大4.8%，至423億美元。這是2008年11月以來(lái)最大規(guī)模的月度貿(mào)易逆差。該結(jié)果與經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家們的共識(shí)相左——經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家們?cè)A(yù)測(cè)，5月份的貿(mào)易逆差將收窄。

　　Imports from China, which is the country's most politically sensitive trading partner, rose by nearly 12 per cent. That inflated the US trade gap with China by more than 15 per cent to $22.3bn, the biggest since last October.

　　美國(guó)從中國(guó)進(jìn)口增加近12%，對(duì)華貿(mào)易逆差由此擴(kuò)大逾15%，至223億美元——這一規(guī)模是去年10月以來(lái)最大的。中國(guó)是美國(guó)最具政治敏感性的貿(mào)易伙伴。

　　Last week, official Chinese figures showed exports from China had surged 44 per cent year-on-year in June, lifting its monthly trade surplus to $20bn. Such imbalances infuriate US political leaders, despite China's decision last month to end its near-two-year peg to the dollar.

　　上周，中國(guó)官方數(shù)字顯示，中國(guó)6月份的出口額同比飆升44%，月度貿(mào)易順差由此擴(kuò)大至200億美元。盡管中國(guó)上月決定終止實(shí)施近兩年之久的人民幣盯住美元政策，但中美間的這種不平衡仍令美國(guó)政界領(lǐng)袖們感到憤怒。

　　Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan Chase, said the surge in imports of Chinese goods in May could be temporary, as Chinese exporters rushed shipments ahead of a reduction in export tax rebates that takes effect on July 15.

　　摩根大通(JPMorgan Chase)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家邁克爾•費(fèi)羅利(Michael Feroli)表示，5月份美國(guó)從中國(guó)進(jìn)口的激增可能是暫時(shí)現(xiàn)象，它是由中國(guó)出口商紛紛趕在出口退稅下調(diào)于7月15日生效前發(fā)貨導(dǎo)致的。

　　But the overall trend of a resurgent trade deficit will concern the administration, which has focused on lifting exports to create jobs at home.

　　不過(guò)，美國(guó)貿(mào)易逆差再度擴(kuò)大的總體趨勢(shì)仍會(huì)讓奧巴馬政府感到不安。奧巴馬政府已集中精力擴(kuò)大出口，力圖在國(guó)內(nèi)創(chuàng)造就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)。

　　Mr Obama, after largely letting trade policy languish during the first 18 months of his administration, recently announced a drive to double exports within five years and promised progress on three long-stalled bilateral trade deals.

　　在上任后的頭18個(gè)月里，奧巴馬對(duì)美國(guó)貿(mào)易政策基本上采取聽(tīng)任態(tài)度。但他近期宣布了一項(xiàng)在五年內(nèi)推動(dòng)美國(guó)出口翻番的計(jì)劃，還承諾要在三項(xiàng)長(zhǎng)期陷于停頓的雙邊貿(mào)易協(xié)議上取得進(jìn)展。

　　But few economists think the plan will have much impact. The proposal involves limited concrete actions beyond some bureaucratic reshuffling, a commitment to redouble efforts on marketing and a proposal to increase the activity of the Ex-Im Bank, the US official export credit agency.

　　然而，幾乎沒(méi)有經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家認(rèn)為上述計(jì)劃會(huì)產(chǎn)生很大影響。該計(jì)劃包括一些官僚重組、一項(xiàng)加大營(yíng)銷努力的承諾以及一項(xiàng)加大美國(guó)進(jìn)出口銀行(Ex-Im Bank)活躍度的方案，除此之外僅涉及有限的具體行動(dòng)。美國(guó)進(jìn)出口銀行是美國(guó)官方出口信貸機(jī)構(gòu)。

　　The persistent US trade gap had narrowed in the initial months of the recession from late 2008, but analysts said yesterday the swelling shortfall could knock a percentage point from gross domestic product in the second quarter. Although exports have been growing in recent months as world trade continues to recover from a plunge last year, the strong dollar and the lack of domestic demand in the rest of the world mean the contribution of net trade to economic growth is likely to be negative over the next two years.

　　美國(guó)持續(xù)多年的貿(mào)易逆差曾在始于2008年底的本次衰退的頭幾個(gè)月里收窄，而分析師們昨日表示，不斷膨脹的貿(mào)易逆差可能會(huì)使美國(guó)二季度國(guó)內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值(GDP)減少一個(gè)百分點(diǎn)。盡管近幾個(gè)月來(lái)，隨著全球貿(mào)易從去年的驟降中持續(xù)復(fù)蘇，美國(guó)的出口一直在增長(zhǎng)，但強(qiáng)勢(shì)美元和世界其它地區(qū)國(guó)內(nèi)需求的不足意味著，未來(lái)兩年里，美國(guó)凈貿(mào)易額對(duì)經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)的貢獻(xiàn)很可能為負(fù)值。

　　“Less domestic production, because of increased imports and less demand for higher-priced US exports, means less job creation in the manufacturing sector, a higher unemployment rate, and less income growth domestically,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC.

　　PNC首席經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家斯圖爾特•霍夫曼(Stuart Hoffman)表示：“由于美國(guó)進(jìn)口增加以及外國(guó)對(duì)價(jià)格較高的美國(guó)出口商品的需求減少，美國(guó)的國(guó)內(nèi)生產(chǎn)在萎縮，這將導(dǎo)致美國(guó)制造業(yè)創(chuàng)造的就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)減少、失業(yè)率升高和國(guó)內(nèi)收入增長(zhǎng)下降。”