亮点
- 中美贸易协议过程艰巨
- 贸易战升温令美国面对更大困难
- 美国可能把贸易赤字问题归咎其他国家
美国把2,000亿美元中国进口货品的关税由10%调升至25%后,我们须了解美国决策层的目标是打击中国还是解决赤字问题(或两者皆是),因为这将影响美国下一步的动向。
如果美国加征关税是源于大国角力,并决意阻碍主要对手崛起,紧张局势有可能升级。预计中国不会舍弃其产业政策赖以成功的一些主要元素,除非美国降低要求,否则两国或许无法达成协议。另一方面,如果美国针对的是双边贸易赤字,现有关税已在发挥作用,新的关税措施也会带来帮助。
美国是继续谈判,还是对余下3,000亿美元中国出口货品加征关税,部分取决于美国准备承受多大的经济损害。关税可能加剧通胀,使美国经济增长减少0.2%。
美国最初对首批500亿美元中国进口商品征收关税的影响有限,因为美国可从其他地方采购价格相若的货品。然而,美国最近对2,000亿美元华货加征关税,虽然当中不少是工业材料(例如半导体或汽车零件),但影响将会更显著,因为企业盈利能力被削弱的程度,可能比终端产品涨价程度更大。然而,美国也更难就最后一批加征关税的3,000亿美元华货寻找替代品,因此消费价格上涨的影响更加直接。
以下案例研究可支持上述论点。美国在2018年1月对洗衣机加征关税后,关税金额像是全数加于消费价格(部分原因是洗衣机实际上没有替代品)。这意味如果美国对类似智能手机的产品加征关税,消费者将须承担所有加幅。
因此,中美贸易战形势升级的程度将取决于美国为进一步打击主要战略对手而准备付出多少代价。
另外,如果美国的主要担忧是贸易赤字,在缓和与中国的贸易失衡情况后,美国与其他地区的贸易失衡却会因而扩大。因此,墨西哥、日本、德国或越南可能是下一轮目标。
当然,或许美国希望削弱中国经济增长,从而降低整体贸易赤字。美国总统特朗普似乎没有关注细节,也没有人告诉他美国贸易赤字背后的基本经济原因,因此他颇有可能同时开辟几条贸易战线。
下一个关键时刻是5月18日,即美国决定是否征收欧洲汽车进口关税的最后期限,受影响贸易金额可能高达3,750亿美元。这将推高美国消费价格,并可能招致欧盟报复。
国际货币基金组织最新的《世界经济展望》报告提出两项直接相关的观点。首先,国家贸易赤字主要源于本土经济状况,如果某个国家利用关税措施缩减与别国的双边贸易赤字,该国与其他国家的贸易赤字将会增加。其次,低关税有助推动贸易,提高全球生产力,促进经济繁荣。
关键在于即使中国同意购买更多美国货品,或美国加征关税导致中国进口货品减少,都不会显著改善美国整体贸易赤字。
从早前的评论中可见,特朗普把贸易赤字与“失败”相提并论。因此,即使美国与中国的贸易“失败”减少,与其他国家(例如越南或墨西哥)的贸易“失败”却会增加。
迄今,美国最大贸易逆差源自中国,但对亚洲来说,不幸的是占美国最大贸易赤字的前十二个国家中,七个来自亚洲地区。

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