WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's unprecedented demand that the United States get a cut of the proceeds from the forced sale of Chinese internet giant ByteDance's short-video app TikTok is based on an interpretation of U.S law that regulatory lawyers say may be open to challenges.

路透华盛顿8月4日 - 中国互联网巨头字节跳动将被迫出售旗下短视频应用TikTok，美国总统特朗普前所未有地要求政府从中分得一杯羹，并表示此举是基于对美国法律的解读，但监管律师称此举可能面临法律挑战。

 

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a U.S. government panel that reviews deals for potential national security risks, has given ByteDance until Sept. 15 to negotiate a sale of TikTok to Microsoft Corp, amid concerns over the safety of personal data that the app handles under its Chinese parent.

负责审核交易是否存在潜在的国家安全风险的美国外资审议委员会(CFIUS)允许字节跳动在9月15日前商定将TikTok出售给微软的交易，担心在中国母公司管理下TikTok的个人数据存在安全问题。

 

Microsoft has said it is seeking to buy the assets of TikTok in North America, Australia and New Zealand. It has not disclosed how much it is willing to pay, though sources previously told Reuters that ByteDance executives value all of TikTok at more than $50 billion.

微软曾表示，寻求收购TikTok在北美、澳洲和新西兰的资产。微软尚未透露愿意支付的价格，但消息人士之前对路透称，字节跳动高管对TikTok整体资产的估值超过500亿美元。

 

“A very substantial portion of that price is going to have to come into the Treasury of the United States because we’re making it possible for this deal to happen,” Trump told reporters on Monday.

“美国财政部应该从TikTok美国业务的出售交易中获得很大一部分资金，因为我们使这笔交易成为可能，”特朗普周一对记者表示。

 

CFIUS legislation gives the U.S. government broad authority to seek mitigation from companies that are jeopardizing national security, legal experts said.

法律专家称，CFIUS法案赋予美国政府广泛权限，以寻求降低威胁国家安全的企业的破坏性。

 

While CFIUS has never before sought a cut from the proceeds of a divestiture it has ordered, the White House could argue that imposing a fee on Bytedance would deprive it of resources that would otherwise support China's government on technology initiatives that could harm U.S. interests, some of the legal experts added.

一些法律专家补充说，虽然CFIUS以前从未向其命令剥离业务的个案索取一部分资金，但白宫可能会辩称，对字节跳动征收费用会剥夺它的资源，而这些资源原本会支持中国政府采取可能损害美国利益的技术举措。

 

“It's certainly inconsistent with the intent of Congress ... and with CFIUS's long-standing concern to maintain a reputation for acting apolitically and solely on grounds of national security, but it's not clear that it's outside the president's statutory authority,” said Paul Marquardt, a regulatory lawyer at Cleary Gottlieb.

“这肯定与国会的想法不一致...也不符合CFIUS长久以来的考量，即维持超然于政治之外、完全基于国家安全考虑的声誉；但目前还不清楚那么做是否超出总统法定权力。”Cleary Gottlieb监管法规律师Paul Marquardt说。

 

The White House, the Treasury Department, Bytedance and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

白宫、财政部、字节跳动及微软尚未立即回覆记者置评请求。

 

U.S. law states that presidential decisions blocking deals on national security grounds are not subject to judicial reviews. However, a legal challenge is possible under the fifth amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the government from seizing property without just compensation, as well as other laws, legal experts said.

美国法律规定，总统基于国安理由而阻止交易的决定不必受司法检视。然而，法律专家表示，依据美国宪法第五修正案提出法律挑战是可能的。宪法第五修正案与其他法律一样，禁止政府不提供公平补偿就没收财产。

 

It is not clear if Trump will make good on his demand for a slice of the TikTok deal proceeds. “I'm not sure it's a specific concept that will be followed through,” White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Fox Business News on Tuesday.

目前还不清楚特朗普是否将贯彻他从收购TikTok交易中分帐的要求。“我不确定这是一个能最终实现的具体想法，”白宫国家经济委员会主任库德洛(Larry Kudlow)周二在福克斯商业频道表示。

 

（新闻源：路透社）

 

热词提炼

 

unprecedented  前所未有的

 

get a cut of... 从……中分得一杯羹

 

Chinese internet giant  中国互联网巨头

 

ByteDance 字节跳动

 

short-video app 短视频应用

 

proceeds 收益

 

regulatory lawyer  监管律师

 

be open to challenges 面临挑战

 

Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) 美国外资审议委员会，也称美国外国投资委员会

 

negotiate a sale of A to B 商定将A出售给B的交易

（negotiate a sale of TikTok to Microsoft Corp  商定将TikTok出售给微软的交易）

 

value v. 对…估价 后常用介词at 引出具体估值

value all of TikTok at... 对TikTok整体资产的估值为……

 

A very substantial portion of ...  ……的很大一部分

 

Treasury of the United States / the Treasury Department美国财政部

 

make sth. Possible 使……成为可能

making it possible for this deal to happen  使这笔交易成为可能

 

legislation 法案

 

jeopardize v. 使受危险；危及、损害

 

impose a fee on ... 对……征收费用

 

deprive it of resources 剥夺它的资源

 

technology initiatives 技术举措

 

be inconsistent with ... 与……不一致

 

long-standing 长久的

 

maintain a reputation for ...  维持……的声誉

 

apolitically 不关心政治地；非政治性地；超然于政治之外

 

on grounds of 基于

 

statutory authority 法定权力

 

regulatory lawyer 监管法规律师

 

did not immediately respond to  尚未立即回覆

 

requests for comment 置评请求

 

be not subject to 不受……限制/制约

 

judicial reviews 司法检视

 

the fifth amendment of the U.S. Constitution 美国宪法第五修正案

 

prohibits sb. from doing sth. 禁止某人做某事

 

prohibits the government from seizing property 禁止政府没收财产

 

seize v. 【法律】查封、充公、没收、扣押

 

seizing property without just compensation 不提供公平补偿就没收财产

 

知识扩展

 

Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) 

美国外资审议委员会，也称美国外国投资委员会，是美国管理外国投资的专管部门，设立于1988年，初衷是为了保障国家安全。与该委员会配套的，是特别设立的外国投资审批制度。从操作层面看，美国政府一般会从是否涉及美国国防生产能力，是否涉及向特定国家销售、转售军事技术，以及是否影响美国在国家安全领域的技术领先地位这三大因素，来考虑是否审核通过该投资项目。

 

CFIUS的审查程序：委员会成员中因各自代表的行业利益不同，对外资并购也存在分歧。通常说来，在接到关于并购的通知后，委员会用30天展开调查。如果成员一致认为不存在安全威胁，审查到此为止，协议继续履行。但哪怕只有一名成员反对，委员会也必须展开历时45天的正式调查，然后围绕是否阻止收购的问题向总统提出建议，总统随后要在15天内作出决定。