近日，美國(guó)國(guó)內(nèi)新冠肺炎確診病例和死亡人數(shù)持續(xù)上升，美國(guó)兩個(gè)人口和經(jīng)濟(jì)大州——加州和紐約州——也先后宣布進(jìn)入緊急狀態(tài)。隨著疫情的擴(kuò)散，美國(guó)國(guó)內(nèi)對(duì)相關(guān)醫(yī)療物資的需求也驟然上升。

以口罩為例，據(jù)《紐約郵報(bào)》報(bào)道，美國(guó)衛(wèi)生部長(zhǎng)亞歷克斯·阿扎2月25日在接受?chē)?guó)會(huì)議員質(zhì)詢(xún)時(shí)稱(chēng)，美國(guó)醫(yī)護(hù)人員的口罩需求缺口達(dá)到2.7億。

當(dāng)?shù)貢r(shí)間3月6日，有美國(guó)媒體報(bào)道稱(chēng)，特朗普政府已經(jīng)批準(zhǔn)豁免自中國(guó)進(jìn)口的100多種醫(yī)療產(chǎn)品的進(jìn)口關(guān)稅，包括口罩、手套和消毒濕巾。

The Trump administration has granted exclusions from import tariffs for more than 100 medical items imported from China, including face masks, examination gloves and sanitizing wipes.

報(bào)道稱(chēng)，美國(guó)政府這次批準(zhǔn)了27家企業(yè)的關(guān)稅豁免申請(qǐng)。這些企業(yè)在1月31日的截止日期之前，提交了申請(qǐng)，那時(shí)疫情主要發(fā)生在中國(guó)，但是美國(guó)公司已著手準(zhǔn)備應(yīng)對(duì)國(guó)內(nèi)流行的情況了。

根據(jù)路透社報(bào)道，相較往常，此次這些企業(yè)的申請(qǐng)?zhí)幚砹鞒?，明顯被加快了。

新冠肺炎疫情暴發(fā)期間，很多關(guān)稅豁免的申請(qǐng)看上去都被加快了，從1月31日截止日期到獲準(zhǔn)，只用了一多個(gè)月的時(shí)間。

Many of the exclusion requests for medical products appear to have been expedited amid the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak, with approvals granted just over one month past a Jan. 31 application deadline.

其他自中國(guó)進(jìn)口產(chǎn)品的免關(guān)稅申請(qǐng)審批往往要耗時(shí)數(shù)月之久。蘋(píng)果公司去年10月31日，就提交了耳機(jī)和智能音箱的關(guān)稅豁免申請(qǐng)，至今仍未有結(jié)果。

Requests to exclude other products from President Donald Trump’s Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods have taken months. Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) requests for exclusions on products from AirPod headphones to the HomePod smart speaker filed on Oct. 31 are still pending.

據(jù)彭博社報(bào)道，美國(guó)一家名為Medegen醫(yī)療產(chǎn)品的公司，也在此次豁免名單之列。該公司在申請(qǐng)中表示，對(duì)這些產(chǎn)品加征關(guān)稅將導(dǎo)致較大的經(jīng)濟(jì)損害，并且增加美國(guó)醫(yī)療衛(wèi)生服務(wù)提供商和他們的顧客的成本。

該公司指出，其申請(qǐng)關(guān)稅豁免的產(chǎn)品“檢查手套”的生產(chǎn)極大依賴(lài)中國(guó)，把生產(chǎn)轉(zhuǎn)移到美國(guó)或第三個(gè)國(guó)家，不太現(xiàn)實(shí)也不具有競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力。

有公司則表示，即使公司盡可能擴(kuò)大產(chǎn)能，但也必須最大化擴(kuò)大進(jìn)口渠道，不論是不是中國(guó)的產(chǎn)品。

The exclusions on Thursday were the first to be granted under the $120 billion fourth tranche of tariffs, which affects $120 billion in Chinese goods.

實(shí)際上，在美國(guó)政府作出最終的豁免決定之前，美國(guó)政界就有人在呼吁擴(kuò)大醫(yī)療用品的進(jìn)口。

美國(guó)《商業(yè)內(nèi)幕網(wǎng)》（Business Inside）報(bào)道，共和黨參議員科里·加德納在上周就致信美國(guó)貿(mào)易代表辦公室稱(chēng)，擴(kuò)大醫(yī)療用品的供應(yīng)對(duì)控制美國(guó)疫情至關(guān)重要。

“要確保美國(guó)做好準(zhǔn)備控制新冠疫情暴發(fā)，關(guān)鍵醫(yī)療商品的供給充沛至關(guān)重要?！?/p>

"To ensure that the United States is prepared to contain and combat the spread of this outbreak, it is crucial that there is a robust supply of critical medical products," Republican Senator Cory Gardner wrote in a letter to the USTR last week.

“我們必須做好應(yīng)對(duì)醫(yī)療供應(yīng)需求增長(zhǎng)的準(zhǔn)備，為此，我請(qǐng)求美國(guó)貿(mào)易代表辦公室取消對(duì)特定醫(yī)療用品加征的有害關(guān)稅，消除進(jìn)口障礙?！?/p>

"We must be prepared for increased medical supply demand in the United States, and to that end, I request that USTR eliminate these harmful tariffs on certain medical products and remove barriers to importation."

在去年6月，美國(guó)貿(mào)易代表辦公室舉辦的聽(tīng)證會(huì)上，美國(guó)衛(wèi)生行業(yè)分銷(xiāo)商協(xié)會(huì)主席馬修就曾作證說(shuō)：“關(guān)稅給醫(yī)療服務(wù)和公共衛(wèi)生帶來(lái)的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，大于其給貿(mào)易或經(jīng)濟(jì)帶來(lái)的益處”?？上М?dāng)時(shí)的美國(guó)政府并沒(méi)有聽(tīng)進(jìn)去。

The risks to health care and public health from tariffs outweigh any benefit to trade or economics,” he said.

Hand sanitiser and respiratory masks were in some cases being sold on the site on Monday at a more than 2,000 percent mark-up, compared to normal retail prices……

Among the many examples still available at the time of writing, a pack of 20 masks made by manufacturer 3M, but sold by an unauthorised reseller, was on sale at $387, compared to a normal retail price of around $14.99. A pack of 24 2oz bottles of Purell hand sanitiser, typically sold for less than $10 a box, was listed at $400.