摘要：在《华盛顿邮报》4月11日发表的评论文章《待价而沽的美国经济》（The US economy is for sale）中，扎卡里亚以犀利笔触剖析了特朗普关税政策如何成为权钱交易的温床，并警示这一趋势对美国自由市场根基的侵蚀。

在美国人看来，特朗普的关税政策也许是为了保护本土产业。

但事实并不像表面上那么简单。

美国著名时事评论员法里德·扎卡里亚（Fareed Zakaria）揭露了这套关税体系催生的肮脏交易：

它实则是通过复杂的关税豁免机制助长腐败，将美国经济推向“裙带资本主义”（crony capitalism）的深渊。

在《华盛顿邮报》4月11日发表的评论文章《待价而沽的美国经济》（The US economy is for sale）中，扎卡里亚以犀利笔触剖析了特朗普关税政策如何成为权钱交易的温床，并警示这一趋势对美国自由市场根基的侵蚀。

These tariff negotiations will inevitably result in a cascade of corruption. The American economy is being transformed from the leading free market in the world to the leading example of crony capitalism.

crony /ˈkrəʊni/ 密友；好朋友

crony capitalism 裙带资本主义；权贵资本主义；朋党资本主义

复杂的关税体系 腐败的天然土壤

扎卡里亚开篇即指出，市场经济的高效运转依赖于规则的清晰、公平与普适，而特朗普政府推行的关税政策却反其道而行。

低效只是其一，更严重的是，通过设定高关税并配套复杂的豁免机制，政府实质上为特定企业和行业创造了寻租空间。

机制越复杂，腐败越泛滥。

The more complicated the taxes, rules and regulations, the greater the inefficiency — as studies show in country after country, from India to Nigeria to Morocco. But more significant, the greater the complexity, the greater the corruption.

例如，2018年至2019年间，美国政府收到近50万份关税豁免申请，而审批标准却模糊不清，特朗普甚至宣称其决定基于“本能”。而政客“本能”恐怕是倾向于他们的捐助者的。

With tariffs come tariff waivers, often granted by the hundreds to specific industries, companies, even products. In 2018 and 2019, the Trump administration announced an assortment of tariffs, including 25 percent on steel, and also a program of waivers; they got around 500,000 applications. This week, when asked how he would determine these exemptions, Trump replied, “instinctively”.

waiver /ˈweɪvə(r)/ （对权利或要求的）放弃

exemption /ɪɡˈzempʃn/ 免除，豁免

Studies show that politicians' instincts usually favor their contributors, which then encourages pervasive corruption.

学术研究佐证了这一机制的腐败倾向：一项针对特朗普首任期内关税豁免的研究发现，向共和党提供政治献金的企业更易获得豁免，而支持民主党的企业获批概率则骤降。

A detailed academic study of the tariffs in Trump’s first term found that “companies that made substantial investments in political connections to Republicans prior to and during the beginning of the Trump administration were more likely to secure exemptions for products otherwise subject to tariffs. Conversely, companies that made contributions to Democratic politicians had decreased odds of tariff exemption approval.”

保守派智库美国企业研究所（AEI）的蒂莫西·卡尼（Timothy Carney）更直言，特朗普当选后“贸易游说行业迎来爆发式增长”(“Trump's first election created a trade lobbying boom”)。

这种“按政治站队分配利益”的模式，将公共政策异化为私相授受的工具。

从自由市场到“美国巴扎”

扎卡里亚以“美国巴扎”（American Bazaar）为喻，讽刺当前美国经济已成为各国企业与政府竞相游说的“交易场”。

With the highest tariffs in the industrialized world, the American bazaar is now open. Countries and companies will descend on Washington to cut deals and gain carve-outs, exemptions and special terms.

作者进一步援引经济学家米尔顿·弗里德曼（Milton Friedman）的警示：企业家虽口头拥护自由市场，却热衷寻求美国政府特惠。

It is worth recalling Milton Friedman’s repeated admonition: “You can get any leading businessman to give you an eloquent speech on the virtues of a free market. But when it comes to their own business, they want to go down to Washington and get a special tariff to protect their business. They want a special tax deduction. They want a tax subsidy.”

印度裔的扎卡里亚早年亲历印度保护主义之弊，深知这种现象曾导致经济停滞、贫穷落后与腐败横行，而如今美国正重蹈覆辙。

The India I grew up in was a country riddled with tariffs, high barriers designed to protect the country’s domestic industry and shield it from what was regarded as unfair foreign competition. It produced stagnation, poverty and lots of corruption.

看着美国的科技先锋和华尔街巨头为换取政策优待，竞相吹捧特朗普的“天才决策”，赞美其如何“英明”挽救他自己搞乱的经济时，扎卡里亚不免痛心疾首：“我到底生活在哪个国度？”

Now I watch tech pioneers give interviews slavishly extolling Trump's genius and Wall Street titans race to post ... congratulations to the president for his brilliance in rescuing the economy from his own actions, and I wonder, what country am I living in?

来源：新浪财经