SE Asian Nations Watching US Plans for Auto Industry
亚洲关注美国会如何拯救汽车工业
The deadline for the major U.S. automakers to present plans to Congress on how they would use $25 billion of emergency loans to bailout the industry is fast approaching. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have until this week to show U.S. lawmakers they will be able to use the money wisely, and that they will change the business approaches that have put them at risk of financial failure. Some Southeast Asian nations will be paying close attention to what lawmakers decide.
美国主要汽车制造公司向国会提交如何利用250亿美元的紧急贷款来拯救美国汽车工业计划的截至期限日趋临近。通用、福特和克莱斯勒三大汽车公司这个星期就要向美国国会显示它们将如何明智地使用这笔资金，以及改变使它们濒临破产的经营方式。一些亚洲国家将对美国国会的决定给予密切的关注。
The struggles of the so-called "Big Three" automakers - General Motors, Ford and Chrysler - have not been limited to the U.S. G.M. spokesman Tom Wilkinson says the company's operations around the world are being affected.
被人们称为“三大汽车公司”的通用汽车、福特和克莱斯勒公司的斗争并不局限在美国国内。通用汽车公司发言人汤姆.维尔金森说，通用汽车的全球经营都受到了影响。
"We've probably ramped back in most regions again as the economic crisis has started to spread," he said. "I would expect in most regions carmakers are slowing production or looking at slowing production."
“随着经济危机开始在全球扩散，我们在世界上大部分地区的经营都在收缩。我认为大部分地区的汽车制造商都在放慢生产或者正在考虑减少生产。”
One country that will be affected is Thailand. G.M. says it is closing a plant southeast of Bangkok for two months starting in mid-December, and will cut more than 250 jobs.
受到影响的一个国家是泰国。通用汽车公司说，从12月中旬开始，它在曼谷东南的一家工厂将停产两个月，250个工人将失去工作。
"The slowdown in production in Thailand is really being driven by slower sales in that Asian region," said Wilkinson.
他说：“我们在泰国减产的原因是亚洲地区销售的下降。”
The GM plant produced 100,000 cars and trucks in 2007, and is scheduled to reopen. But Thai officials are watching for developments out of Washington.
通用汽车公司那家在泰国的工厂2007年生产了10万辆小汽车和卡车，最终还会重新开工。但是，泰国官员们正在密切注视华盛顿的事态发展。
In a statement to VOA, the Thai Minister of Commercial Affairs says: "U.S. companies can and do play a very important role" in Thailand's automotive sector. She also says the collapse of any one of the major U.S. automakers could hurt related industries, like Thailand's rubber industry, which produces finished tires and sells rubber to tire manufactures in other countries.
泰国商务部长在发给美国之音的一份声明中说，“美国公司可以并且确实在泰国的汽车行业中发挥着非常重要的作用”。这位部长还说，任何一家美国主要汽车公司的破产都会给相关行业造成伤害，比如生产汽车轮胎并向其他国家的轮胎制造商出售橡胶的泰国橡胶工业。
Hanhyeong Pyo, an associate at the Hyundai Research Institute, says South Korea is also watching and waiting. He says many major U.S. companies will likely fall like dominoes if one of the Big Three automakers fails, which could make it more difficult for South Korea to borrow foreign currency.
韩国现代研究院的一位研究员说，韩国也在观察和等待：“如果三大汽车公司当中的一家倒闭，那么其他美国主要公司也会像多米诺骨牌一样跟着垮台。这样韩国借贷外国货币就会更困难了。”
There could also be other, serious consequences.
这位研究员说，还会产生其他、更恶劣的后果。
Pyo says the collapse of a major U.S. automaker could deepen the U.S. recession, slow consumer spending, and make it more difficult for South Korea to sell its exports in the U.S.
“美国一家主要汽车公司垮台会加剧美国的经济衰退，使民众消费进一步放缓，从而使韩国更难向美国出口货物。”
The latest economic data from South Korea shows industrial output fell more than two-percent from September to October, a sign its export driven economy is already slowing faster than expected.
来自韩国的最新经济数据显示，从9月到10月，工业产量下降了百分之2，显示韩国出口导向形经济的放慢比人们预期的还要快。
