紐時賞析／恐危害總統選戰 美遏制俄羅斯賣油行動遭擱置

白宮經濟顧問擔心，讓俄羅斯油輪停止運轉、會提高美國汽油價格。（紐約時報）

U.S. Weighs New Penalty To Curb Oil From Russia

美斟酌新罰則 遏制俄羅斯賣油營收

Officials in President Joe Biden’s Treasury Department have proposed new actions aimed at crippling a fleet of aging oil tankers that are helping deliver Russian oil to buyers around the world in defiance of Western sanctions.

拜登總統的財政部官員已提議新的行動，目的在癱瘓一個老舊油輪船隊，這個船隊無視西方制裁，正協助把俄羅斯石油運送給世界各地買主。

Their effort is aimed at punishing Russia but it has stalled amid White House concerns over how it would affect energy prices before the November election.

他們的行動目的是懲罰俄羅斯，但已擱置，因爲白宮憂慮此舉將在11月選前影響能源價格。

In an attempt to drain Russia of money needed to continue fighting its war in Ukraine, the United States and its allies have imposed penalties and taken other novel steps to limit how much Moscow earns from selling oil abroad. But Russia has increasingly found ways around those limits, raising pressure on the Biden administration to tighten its enforcement efforts.

爲了減少俄羅斯繼續在烏克蘭作戰所需的資金，美國及盟邦已實施懲罰，並採取其他新穎手段，限制莫斯科從海外石油銷售賺得的收入。但俄羅斯逐漸找到途徑繞過這些限制，提高拜登政府加強執法行動的壓力。

Treasury officials want to do that, in part, by targeting a so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers allowing Russia to sell oil above a $60-per-barrel price cap that the United States and its allies imposed in 2022.

財政部官員想要做到這件事，部分藉由鎖定一支所謂的影子油輪船隊，這個船隊容許俄國以高於美國及盟邦在2022年強制實施每桶60美元價格上限銷售石油。

That cap was intended to restrict Moscow’s ability to profit from its energy exports while allowing its oil to continue flowing on international markets to prevent a global price shock. But Russia has largely circumvented the cap, allowing it to reap huge profits to fund its war efforts.

這個上限意在限制莫斯科能源出口獲利的能力，同時允許俄國石油繼續在國際市場流動，避免全球價格震盪。但俄羅斯大致規避了上限，以獲利資助戰爭。

While Treasury officials want to knock Russian tankers out of commission, economic advisers inside the White House worry that would risk inflaming oil prices this summer and push up U.S. gasoline prices, which could hurt Biden’s reelection campaign. They have not signed off on the proposals, even as current and former Treasury officials present them with analyses suggesting the risks of a major effect on the oil market are low.

儘管財政部官員想讓這些俄國油輪停止營運，白宮內部的經濟顧問卻擔心，這會讓今年夏天的原油價格上漲，推高美國汽油價格，可能危害拜登的連任選戰。雖然現任與前任財政部官員向他們提供分析表明，對原油市場產生重大影響的風險很低，他們還沒批准該提案。

The dispute is a rare public instance of internal administration disagreement over inflation and Ukraine policy. It pits Treasury officials against aides on the White House National Economic Council, which is led by Lael Brainard.

這個爭執，是政府內部在通貨膨脹與烏克蘭政策方面意見不合的罕見公開實例，讓財政部官員跟萊爾．布蘭納德領導的白宮國家經濟委員會幕僚對立。

Brainard declined to speak on the record about the process. White House officials refused to answer direct questions about oil-price concerns and the Treasury proposal.

布蘭納德婉拒公開談論相關過程。白宮官員拒絕回答有關油價顧慮跟財政部提案的直接問題。

Instead, the White House issued a statement from Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to Biden.

作爲替代，白宮發出一份拜登資深顧問霍克斯坦的聲明。

“Our actions to enforce energy sanctions are focused on exacting a price on Russia, Iran and other bad actors while preventing a spike in the price of energy, which would not only hurt American consumers but increase the revenues of the same bad actors we are trying to hold accountable,” he said.

他說，「我們執行能源制裁行動，都注重讓俄羅斯、伊朗與其他不良行爲者付出代價，同時防止能源價格上漲，這不只會危害美國消費者，還讓我們正努力追究責任的同一批不良行爲者收入增加」。

文／Jim Tankersley and Alan Rappeport　譯／周辰陽