特朗普的商務部長人選與中投公司有商業往來

Wilbur Ross, Donald Trump’s incoming commerce secretary, is facing questions over potential conflicts of interest stemming from his business ties to China’s largest sovereign wealth fund.

唐納德?特朗普(Donald Trump)政府即將上任的商務部長威爾伯?羅斯（Wilbur Ross，上圖右），正面臨關於潛在利益衝突的質疑，這場質疑是因羅斯與中國最大主權財富基金的商業往來而起。

The billionaire investor and China Investment Corp, the state-controlled fund, were part of a consortium that invested $1bn in Diamond S Shipping, an oil products tanker business, in 2011. The company is one of the few that the financier-turned-politician has decided not to sell to join the Trump administration, according to disclosure documents.

這名億萬富翁投資家與中國政府控制的基金中投公司(China Investment Corp)曾同屬一個於2011年向油輪公司鑽石航運(Diamond S Shipping)投資10億美元的財團。根據公開披露的文件，鑽石航運是這名金融家出身的政客決定不會因爲加入特朗普政府而出售的少數幾家公司之一。

CIC, which owns about 9 per cent of the company, has been one of Beijing’s main overseas investment vehicles. Mr Ross, meanwhile, is set to be one of China’s leading interlocutors in the Trump administration on matters of trade and investment once he is confirmed by the Senate.

在鑽石航運擁有約9%股份的中投公司，一直是中國政府主要的海外投資工具之一。而羅斯一旦獲得美國參議院批准，將成爲特朗普政府負責在貿易和投資方面與中國對話的主要人物之一。

Legal experts say their ties could affect the ability of one of Mr Trump’s top economic advisers to deal with Beijing.

法律專家表示，這層關係可能會影響特朗普最高級別經濟顧問之一與北京方面交涉的能力。

Mr Ross’s commerce department oversees the prosecution of anti-dumping and other trade enforcement cases. In past administrations it has played a broad role in trade negotiations and other issues between the US and China, including internet privacy.

羅斯的商務部掌管反傾銷訴訟及其他貿易執法案件。在過去幾屆政府中，商務部在美中貿易談判及其他事項（包括網絡隱私權）方面發揮了廣泛作用。

Kathleen Clark, a Washington University law professor, said: “By reason of that type of co-investor relationship, Ross’s impartiality in handling a commerce department proceeding involving CIC could reasonably be questioned, so he should recuse [himself] from any proceedings involving CIC.”

華盛頓大學(Washington University)法學教授凱瑟琳?克拉克(Kathleen Clark)稱：“由於這種共同投資人關係，人們有理由懷疑羅斯能否公正地處理商務部涉及中投公司的訴訟，因此，他應該回避任何涉及中投公司的訴訟。”

Richard Painter, a White House ethics lawyer under George W Bush, said that by keeping a 32 per cent stake in Diamond S Shipping, Mr Ross would also have to recuse himself regularly from broader trade policy discussions — given the direct impact these could have on his oil poducts tanker business.

小布什(George W Bush)任內的白宮倫理律師理查德?佩因特(Richard Painter)表示，因其在鑽石航運保留了32%的股份，羅斯還必須時常自行迴避更廣泛的貿易政策討論——因爲這些政策可能對其油輪業務產生直接影響。

Another leading lawyer, who asked to remain anonymous as he is working with several Trump administration nominees seeking US Senate confirmation, said an ethics agreement signed by Mr Ross in which he revealed he would hold on to his shipping stake was worded in a way that could expose the commerce secretary to legal attacks.

另一位知名律師表示，在羅斯簽署的一份道德協議中，他透露自己將繼續持有該航運公司股份，而該協議的措辭方式可能給他招來法律方面的抨擊。這名律師要求匿名，因爲他正與多名尋求美國參議院批准的特朗普政府被提名人共事。

A spokesman for Mr Ross said he had been willing to divest his stake in Diamond S Shipping but had been told he could keep it by government ethics officials.

羅斯的一位發言人說，羅斯一直都願意剝離自己在鑽石航運的股份，但政府道德官員告知他可以繼續持有這些股份。

The spokesman also noted that CIC was “a passive minority investor” in Diamond S Shipping and that the structure of his own stake once he entered government meant Mr Ross would have no knowledge or control over the company’s business decisions.

發言人還指出中投公司是鑽石航運的“被動少數股權投資者”，而且一旦羅斯進入政府，他所持股份的結構意味着他對公司的業務決策將一無所知、且沒有控制力。

“Mr Ross has committed that, if confirmed, he will faithfully execute the law and the commitments in his ethics agreement, and will follow the advice of the department’s ethics officials with respect to any matter about which they advise him that a conflict of interest would arise,” the spokesman said.

發言人表示：“羅斯已經承諾，如果得到參議院批准，他將忠實地執行法律及其道德協議中的承諾，並將在部門道德官員提醒他會出現利益衝突的一切事項上遵循他們的建議。”

“The department’s ethics officials are career staff with extensive experience, and together with Mr Ross are committed to serving the public and faithfully executing the law,” he added.

發言人同時表示：“商務部的道德官員都是經驗豐富的專業人士，羅斯將與他們一起致力於爲公衆服務，並將忠於執法。”

Scrutiny of Mr Ross’s potential conflicts of interest could have implications for the Trump administration. The 79-year-old former banker has been identified as one of the central figures steering the new US trade policy, which aims to put “America first” by renegotiating deals with partners across the globe.

審查羅斯的潛在利益衝突可能會對特朗普政府產生影響。這位79歲的前銀行家被認爲是執掌美國新貿易政策的核心人物之一，新政策旨在通過與全球夥伴重新談判來實現“美國優先”。

Mr Ross, who has agreed to divest most of his holdings and business interests, has been cleared by the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) over potential conflicts. He told the Senate commerce committee in January that “I intend to be quite scrupulous about recusal in any topic where there’s the slightest scintilla of doubt”.

羅斯已同意剝離自己的大多數持股和商業利益，政府道德辦公室(Office of Government Ethics)已宣佈他不存在潛在利益衝突。他在1月份曾向參議院商務委員會表示“任何話題只要存在一丁點疑問，我都會非常謹慎地考慮迴避。”

Charles Borden, a lawyer at Allen & Overy, said the fact that OGE and commerce department officials had approved Mr Ross’s ethics agreement indicated they did not think his shipping interests were of concern under federal conflict-of-interest laws.

安理律師事務所(Allen & Overy)律師查爾斯?博登(Charles Borden)表示，政府道德辦公室和商務部官員已經批准了羅斯的道德協議，這一事實表明，他們不認爲根據聯邦利益衝突法，他的航運利益引人擔憂。

Nowhere in the ethics agreement approved by the OGE is the CIC co-investment mentioned, raising questions over whether the body reviewing conflicts of interest is aware of Mr Ross’s connection to the Chinese fund. The OGE and CIC declined to comment.

政府道德辦公室批准的道德協議中並沒有提到與中投公司的聯合投資，這產生了一個問題：利益衝突審查機構是否知道羅斯與這家中國基金的關係？政府道德辦公室和中投公司均不予置評。