作者：詹妮弗·A·德卢希总统唐纳德·特朗普正准备放宽对一种免税柴油使用范围的限制，这是他为了在11月中期选举前降低这种关键燃料成本而采取的又一项举措。
By Jennifer A. Dlouhy President Donald Trump is preparing to ease limits restricting the use of a tax-exempt variety of diesel, his latest bid to pare costs for the essential fuel ahead of the November midterm elections.
据熟悉此事且要求在公开宣布前匿名的消息人士称，特朗普政府预计将于周一公布这项针对所谓“红色染色柴油”的计划。
The Trump administration is expected to unveil the plan targeting so-called dyed red diesel on Monday, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named before a public announcement.
该举措的完整细节尚未立即公布。特朗普政府的计划实际上将允许更广泛地使用红色或染色柴油，这种柴油通常用于非道路用途，例如农业设备。由于红色柴油免征每加仑24美分的联邦消费税，任何允许其更广泛使用（包括在道路行驶车辆中使用）的举措，预计都将迅速降低零售价格。
Full details of the move were not immediately available. The Trump administration plan effectively would allow more widespread use of red or dyed diesel, which is generally available for off-road purposes, such as in farm equipment. Because red diesel is exempt from the federal excise tax of 24 cents per gallon, any move to enable its use more widely — including in on-road vehicles — is expected to translate into a swift reduction in retail prices.
这一做法是特朗普政府为削减柴油成本而采取的又一项努力。受俄罗斯和中东地区战争的影响，炼油能力下降，全球石油产品运输量减少，导致柴油价格大幅上涨。根据美国汽车俱乐部AAA的数据，周日美国柴油零售价格平均为每加仑6.32美元。
The approach marks yet another effort to slash costs for diesel that have surged amid wars in Russia and the Middle East that pared refining capacity and shrunk the shipment of petroleum products globally. In the US, retail prices for diesel averaged $6.32 per gallon on Sunday, according to auto club AAA.
虽然这一价格低于上个月创下的6.53美元的历史高点，但农民、卡车司机和其他用户仍需支付的费用仍比2月28日高出1.5倍以上。当时，美国与以色列对伊朗发动攻击，柴油价格仅为每加仑3.76美元。
While that’s down from an all-time high of $6.53 set last month, farmers, truckers and other users are still paying more than one-and-a-half times what they were on Feb. 28, when the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran and a gallon of the fuel was just $3.76 per gallon.
由于柴油是重要的动力燃料——为农业设备提供动力、驱动船舶并为农村社区供电——价格上涨已对经济产生连锁反应，导致各类消费品成本上升。
Because diesel serves as a workhorse fuel — powering farm equipment, propelling shipping and supplying power to rural communities — the higher prices have rippled through the economy, spurring higher costs for an array of consumer goods.
这也给美国腹地带来了经济困难和挫败感，当地农民在秋季收获季节正遭受高燃料成本的冲击。特朗普计划于周一访问内布拉斯加州的大岛市，此举旨在支持共和党参议员皮特·里凯茨的连任竞选，并鼓励共和党人在11月投票。
That’s also caused economic hardship and frustration in America’s heartland, where farmers are being hit with high fuel costs during the fall harvest season. Trump is set to visit Grand Island, Nebraska, on Monday, part of a bid to bolster the reelection bid of Republican Senator Pete Ricketts and drive Republicans to the polls in November.
这一最新举措是在七国集团及其伙伴国周五达成协议，同意释放多达1亿桶紧急石油和柴油储备的基础上采取的。该决定是在特朗普政府施加强大压力之后作出的，其目标是说服欧洲及其他国家动用紧急柴油储备。
The latest move comes on top of a Friday agreement by Group of Seven nations and their partners to release as much as 100 million barrels of emergency oil and diesel stocks. The decision followed an intense Trump administration pressure campaign aimed at persuading European and other nations to tap emergency diesel stockpiles.
“柴油价格正在下降，但我们还有更多工作要做，”农业部长布鲁克·罗林斯周一在社交媒体上发文称。特朗普“正在采取行动，为农民和牧场主提供短期缓解，包括在释放1亿桶原油时优先保障柴油供应。过去几天，柴油价格已经每加仑下降了约15美分。”农业州的法律制定者一直向特朗普施压，要求禁止美国柴油出口，以至少实现短期的价格缓解。但在周五七国集团作出决定后，特朗普表示他不会限制该燃料的对外销售。
“Diesel prices are coming down, but we have more work to do,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a social media post on Monday. Trump “is taking action to deliver short-term relief for farmers and ranchers, including prioritizing diesel in the release of 100 million barrels of crude oil. Diesel prices have already dropped about 15 cents per gallon over the last few days.”Farm-state lawmakers have been pressuring Trump to ban US diesel exports in a bid to provide at least short-term price relief. But following the G7 decision Friday, Trump said he wouldn’t restrict foreign sales of the fuel.