澳大利亚总理安东尼·阿尔巴尼斯证实，澳大利亚正与美国就相关问题进行磋商；外界担心特朗普政府可能真的会禁止石油出口。美国总统唐纳德·特朗普上周末再次表示，政府正“非常认真地”考虑禁止出口柴油，以迫使处于历史高位的价格回落。尽管美国能源部长克里斯·赖特表示，这种做法从长期来看“肯定行不通”，阿尔巴尼斯仍坚持上述立场。
Australia is in talks with the US amid fears the Trump administration could follow through with a ban on oil exports, Anthony Albanese has confirmed. US President Donald Trump said again over the weekend that his administration was “very seriously” considering a ban on diesel exports to force down record-high prices. It came despite US Energy Secretary Chris Wright saying the approach “definitely doesn’t work” long term.
阿尔巴尼斯周二说：“出于澳大利亚的国家利益，我们继续与美国保持沟通，包括在这一问题上。我们继续反对美国对澳大利亚商品加征关税，并继续主张遵照我们与美国达成的自由贸易协定，推动两国间贸易自由流动。”他说，加强澳大利亚燃料供应的努力“非常成功”，并列举了今年早些时候在亚洲展开的大规模外交攻势，以及与“过去从未向澳大利亚供应燃料”的国家达成的全新供应安排，包括荷兰、尼日利亚和阿根廷。
“We continue to engage with the United States in Australia’s national interests, including on that issue,” the Prime Minister said on Tuesday. “We continue to argue against tariffs that are put on Australian goods, and we continue to argue for the free flow of trade between our two nations in accordance with the free trade agreement that we have with the United States.”
澳大利亚财政部长吉姆·查默斯此前警告，美国停止出口柴油将进一步加剧全球燃料供应压力。查默斯先生周二接受ABC广播采访时说：“对全球经济整体而言，这将是一个令人深感担忧的发展。据我所知，我们从美国进口了一些柴油，但根据我获得的通报，我们目前暂时并不依赖这些出口。不过，作为全球经济领域的又一 developments，这将令人深感担忧。我们已经看到，中东这场旷日持久的战争正对燃料供应和燃料价格造成极其严重的压力；如果看到这类决定使情况进一步恶化，世界大多数人都 会感到担忧。”澳大利亚大部分柴油进口自亚洲，仅韩国一国就占近29%。
He said efforts to shore up Australia’s fuel supply had been “very successful”, pointing to his diplomatic blitz cross Asia earlier in the year as well as new supply arrangements with countries “that in the past have not sent fuel to Australia”, such as the Netherlands, Nigeria and Argentina. Treasurer Jim Chalmers earlier warned the US halting diesel exports would slap further strain on global fuel supplies.
但澳大利亚所依赖的大多数炼油枢纽，其原油大部分来自中东。美国与伊朗重新交火，再次大幅增加了船只通过霍尔木兹海峡的风险。沙特阿拉伯与也门胡塞武装的冲突升级也威胁到中东地区的石油运输，促使法国派兵保护沙特一座大型石油码头。
“It would be a very concerning development for the global economy broadly,” Mr Chalmers told ABC radio on Tuesday. “We have imported some diesel, as I understand it, from the US, but we’re not currently relying for the time being on those exports, as I’m briefed. “But broadly, as another development in the global economy, it would be a very concerning one. “We can see already the very severe pressure being put on fuel supply and fuel prices by this prolonged war in the Middle East, and it would be concerning to most people around the world to see that made worse by those sorts of decisions.” Australia imports most of its diesel from Asia, with South Korea alone accounting for nearly 29 per cent. But most of the oil refining hubs Australia relies on source most of their crude from the Middle East, where renewed fighting between the US and Iran has again spiked the risk of transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Shipments out of the Middle East have also been threatened by a flare-up between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi rebels, prompting France to deploy troops to safeguard a major Saudi oil terminal.