FT社评：欧盟自由贸易阵线告急

The forthcoming departure of the UK from the EU will have many adverse consequences for both the leavers and the left. One is the departure of one of the loudest and most consistent voices for free trade within the union.

英国脱离欧盟的时刻即将到来，不管是对离开者，还是对留下者，此事都将造成许多不利后果。其一是欧盟内部最响亮、最坚定拥护自由贸易的发声者之一要离开了。

A serious counterweight to habitual protectionists in France, Italy and elsewhere is much to be desired. Although the EU is embarking on a series of bilateral trade agreements with the likes of Mercosur, the South American customs union, as well as Australia and New Zealand, it is also showing disturbing signs of keeping out foreign goods, services and capital.

欧盟内部现在亟需一股能与法国、意大利等许多地方的老牌保护主义者相抗衡的力量。虽然欧盟正在与南美关税同盟——南方共同市场(Mercosur)等组织以及澳大利亚和新西兰等国谈判一系列的双边贸易协定，但它也显示出有意将外国商品、服务和资本拒之门外等令人不安的迹象。

An early test has come in the form of proposals pushed by Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, for an EU-wide system of screening, and if necessary blocking, takeovers from outside the EU. The rationale is national security, but the mechanism is open to more powerful countries such as France protecting their companies by deterring competitive producers from setting up shop in smaller nations.

一个初步的考验，就是法国总统埃马纽埃尔•马克龙(Emmanuel Macron)倡导的提议。他主张建立一个适用于全欧盟范围的机制，用于筛查——如有必要还可以阻止——来自欧盟以外的收购。其理由是国家安全，但该机制将令法国等较强大的国家可以通过阻止有竞争力的生产商在小国开展业务来保护本国公司。

Finland, a member of the free-trading Nordic bloc that has generally sided with the UK, has correctly pushed back against the proposals, saying they needlessly risk setting off international conflict over trade. On this particular occasion, there is a good chance sense will prevail. A group of peripheral countries including Portugal and Greece, each in need of foreign investment to boost their productive capacity, are joining forces with Nordic countries and the Netherlands to water down the proposals.

实行自由贸易的北欧国家集团通常与英国站在一条线上，其成员芬兰正确地反驳了上述提议，称它们将不必要地带来引发国际贸易冲突的风险。在这个特定事件上，理性可能会占上风。包括葡萄牙和希腊在内的一批外围国家各个都需要外国投资来提高其生产能力，它们正与北欧国家和荷兰联合起来，以求削弱上述提议。

In the future, however, assembling such coalitions may be more difficult. More usually, the Mediterranean countries, with uncompetitive manufacturing companies to defend from foreign competition, are part of the protectionist faction among the member states.

但未来想组成这样的联盟可能更加困难。一般来说，地中海国家(它们的制造业企业缺乏竞争力来应对外来竞争)属于欧盟成员国中的保护主义阵营。

A key moment came in the past couple of years when it became clear that Germany, traditionally the swing voter among the member states on trade issues, was shifting towards the protectionist camp. Berlin has supported, for example, changes to the EU’s trade defence measures such as anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties that will give greater leeway to the EU authorities to tax imports as they see fit.

近几年中的一个关键时刻是，在贸易问题上历来立场不定的德国开始倒向了保护主义阵营。例如，柏林支持改革欧盟的贸易防御措施，如反倾销税和反补贴税，这些改革将让欧盟有关部门有更大的自由对进口商品征税，只要他们认为合适。

And there are issues that go well beyond the traditional subjects of beleaguered manufacturing industries in sectors such as steel, or even newer trade battlegrounds such as solar cell technology. Measures to prevent the cross-border flow of data have proliferated across the EU, retarding or even reversing international trade in services. The EU desperately needs a heavyweight member state prepared to stand up and fight for free flows of data, goods, capital and people.

有一些问题还超出了传统讨论范畴——以往话题主要涉及钢铁等处境艰难的制造业行业，以及围绕太阳能电池技术等更新兴的贸易战场。意在阻止数据跨境流动的措施在整个欧盟都出现了激增，阻碍甚至逆转了国际服务贸易。欧盟迫切需要一个重量级的成员国挺身而出，为争取数据、商品、资本和人员的自由流动而斗争。

In the absence of same, the European Commission needs to be very careful about its role. In the investment debate, keen to centralise power it leapt too quickly towards backing an EU-wide screening mechanism.

如果没有这样的国家，欧盟委员会(European Commission)必须非常谨慎地对待自己的角色。在关于投资的争论中，由于渴望集中权力，它过于迅速地转向了支持建立一种全欧盟适用的投资筛查机制。

The commission has always had to tread a line between placating both the more protectionist and the more liberalising states. With the UK departing and Germany shifting, that positioning will become more delicate and the risks from erring on the protectionist side will be higher. The commission may pride itself on signing new trade deals around the world, but it also needs to help keep borders open at home.

一直以来，欧盟委员会既要安抚更倾向于保护主义的成员国，也要安抚更奉行自由主义的成员国，它总是不得不在二者之间权衡。随着英国退出欧盟以及德国姿态的转变，欧盟如何选择立场将变得更加微妙，其偏向保护主义的风险将会增加。欧盟委员会可能会以在世界各地签署新的贸易协定而自豪，但它也需要致力于推动欧盟内部保持边界开放。

The EU is striking an optimistic tone on trade and investment. But its confidence belies the fact that some of its initiatives are more to do with restricting trade than expanding it. Activism is not enough. It needs to be animated by the free-market orientation for which the UK and its Nordic allies have traditionally been known.

欧盟在贸易和投资上发表了乐观的论调。但其信心掩盖了这样一个事实，即它的一些举措更多的与限制而非扩大贸易有关。只有行动主义是不够的。它必须追寻自由市场的方向，以此来激发自身的活力，英国及其北欧盟友传统上就是以坚持这一方向著称。