In the debate over trade, stories about what’s left of the domestic textile industry tend to involve mills threatened by competition from China. But a company in Colorado called Cocona Labs has prospered by sending its products across the Pacific.

在有关贸易的争论中，那些关于美国纺织业奄奄一息的故事往往会提到受到中国竞争威胁的纺织厂。然而，一家名为Cocona Labs的科罗拉多公司却通过将产品出口到太平洋彼岸，把生意做得红红火火。

Cocona manufactures compounds used to make fabrics that are stitched into bedding, towels and clothing, especially for outdoor gear. The elements move moisture away from skin, making material warmer and faster drying. Cocona sends roughly two-thirds of the compounds it produces to China, where factories spin yarn, weave fabric and stitch linens and apparel. Many of the finished goods wind up back in the United States.

Cocona生产用于制造面料的化合物，这些面料被制成床上用品、毛巾和衣物，尤其是户外装备。这些功能性成分能将水分从皮肤上带走，使材料更保暖、速干。Cocona将其生产的大约三分之二的化合物送往中国，那里的工厂负责纺纱、织布以及缝制亚麻制品和服装。许多成品最终又回到美国。

But the global trade war started by the Trump administration has shaken the economics of this business. Faced with uncertainty over tariffs, and especially retaliatory levies imposed by China, Cocona might start making changes. Among the possible actions: moving part of the production of its core offering, its so-called master batch made up of compounds, from the United States to factories in China.

但特朗普政府发起的全球贸易战动摇了该公司的经济基础。面对关税带来的不确定性，尤其是中国实施的报复性征税，Cocona可能会开始做出改变。可能的举措包括：将其核心产品（由化合物组成的所谓母料）的部分生产从美国转移到中国的工厂。

“We are actively in the process of doing that,” the company’s chief executive, Jeff Bowman, said from his home in Bend, Ore.

该公司首席执行官杰夫·鲍曼在俄勒冈州本德的家中表示：“我们正在积极实施这一计划。”

President Trump has sold his trade war as the way to force international businesses to abandon China and bring factory work to the United States. Yet the experience of this small business, one with 20 employees around the world, attests to how tariffs can have the opposite effect, compelling the company to consider shifting its work to the other side of the Pacific.

特朗普将他的贸易战宣传为迫使跨国企业放弃中国、将工厂迁回美国的一种手段。然而，这家在全球拥有20名员工的小企业的经历证明，关税可能产生相反的效果，迫使该公司考虑将业务转移到太平洋彼岸。

“Is that crazy, or what?” Mr. Bowman said.

“太疯狂了，对不对？”鲍曼说。

He is especially frustrated that the disruption of his business is playing out in the service of a goal that he dismisses as fanciful.

尤其让他感到不满的是，他的生意受到干扰是为了一个被他斥为异想天开的目标。

“There’s no way in hell that those garment factories and bedding factories are coming back to the United States in any significant quantity,” he said. “Unless American consumers are willing to pay a lot more for their goods.”

“那些服装厂和床上用品厂绝对不可能大量回到美国，”他说。“除非美国消费者愿意花更多钱购买这些商品。”

Cocona利用从美国西南部开采的矿物，将它们制成颗粒。然后，位于上中西部州和东南部州的工厂将这些颗粒制成母料，用于制造床上用品、毛巾和服装的面料。Cocona将其生产的约三分之二的化合物运往中国，但鉴于关税问题的不确定性，公司首席执行官杰夫·鲍曼一直在研究如何将其母粒的某些生产阶段转移到中国或印度。

At 72, Mr. Bowman is a veteran of two worlds directly relevant to his current perch: mountaineering and the pursuit of ways to keep climbers more comfortable. An outdoor enthusiast, he worked for Bill Gore, the fabric pioneer who developed Gore-Tex, the lightweight, breathable and waterproof material.

现年72岁的鲍曼在两个与他目前的工作直接相关的领域有着丰富的经验：登山运动以及寻求让登山者更舒适的方法。作为一名户外运动爱好者，他曾为面料先驱比尔·戈尔工作。戈尔开发了轻便、透气、防水的材料Gore-Tex。

He thought he was retired, living and rock climbing in Spain, when he was recruited to oversee Cocona in 2013. The company had been in business since the early 1990s.

2013年被Cocona请来掌舵之前，他以为自己住在西班牙，享受攀岩的退休状态会一直继续下去。这家公司成立于20世纪90年代初。

Cocona’s operations are shrouded in trade secrets, making Mr. Bowman meager with details. In general terms, the process takes minerals mined in the American Southwest and sends them to the Mid-Atlantic, where they are turned into particles. Factories in the Upper Midwest and Southeast then turn those particles into master batch. Cocona exports those wares to companies that make yarn in China, Taiwan, India, Portugal, Turkey, Spain and El Salvador.

Cocona的业务多为商业机密，鲍曼对其中的细节讳莫如深。总的来说流程是这样的：从美国西南部开采矿物，运到美国的中大西洋地区，在那里将它们制成颗粒。然后，位于上中西部州和东南部州的工厂将这些颗粒制成母料。Cocona将这些产品出口给中国、台湾、印度、葡萄牙、土耳其、西班牙和萨尔瓦多生产纱线的企业。

The trade war delivered by Mr. Trump on his return to office in January did not catch the company by surprise. Six years ago, as animosity between the United States and China intensified, Cocona began developing new markets in India. But its partnerships in China, some forged after decades of collaboration, could not be replaced.

特朗普今年1月重返白宫后发起的贸易战并没有让该公司感到意外。六年前，美中之间的敌意加剧，Cocona开始在印度开发新市场。但它在中国的合作伙伴有些保持了几十年的关系，不可能被取代。

“The infrastructure in China for textiles, there’s nothing really that compares to it anywhere else in the world,” Mr. Bowman said.

鲍曼说：“中国的纺织业基础设施在世界上真的没有其他地方能与之匹敌。”

In April, Mr. Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 145 percent. Beijing responded by elevating tariffs on American imports to 125 percent. Mr. Bowman had a problem. Fortunately, he discovered an immediate solution. His warehouse in Shanghai held enough master batch to satisfy orders without bringing in additional shipments.

4月，特朗普将中国进口商品的关税提高到145%。北京方面则将美国进口商品的关税提高到125%。鲍曼遇到了麻烦。幸运的是，他立即找到了解决方案。他在上海的仓库里存放的母料足以满足订单需求，无需额外发货。

In the months since, amid talk of trade negotiations, the Trump administration has lowered its tariffs on Chinese imports to 30 percent, while Beijing has reduced its retaliatory taxes to 10 percent. Still, Mr. Bowman remains concerned that fresh hostility could erupt without warning.

此后的几个月里，随着各方开始谈及举行贸易谈判，特朗普政府将对中国进口商品的关税降至30%，而北京则将其报复性关税降至10%。尽管如此，鲍曼仍然担心新的敌对行动可能随时爆发。

His customers are holding off on purchases, awaiting the clarity of future trade deals.

他的客户正在推迟采购，等待未来贸易协定的明确。

“Nobody’s ordering goods all through the supply chain,” he said, having just returned from a three-week reconnaissance trip to Asia. This was the situation everywhere, he added.

“整个供应链上都没有人下单，”他说。他刚结束为期三周的亚洲考察之旅。他还表示，各地都是这种情况。

Faced with this threat, Mr. Bowman is slowing a series of projects aimed at expanding into new product lines. He is holding back on laboratory work and product testing.

面对这一威胁，鲍曼放缓了一系列旨在拓展新产品线的项目。他暂停了实验室的工作和产品测试。

“We’re all waiting to see what’s going to happen,” he said. But he could not wait to configure alternative plans. “Hope is not a strategy,” he added.

“我们都在观望会发生什么，”他说。但他不能坐等结果，只能提前制定备选方案。“不能把愿望当成策略，”他补充道。

With that in mind, Mr. Bowman has been looking into how to shift some of the manufacturing stages of his master batch to Asia — to either China or India. That way, he can sell the product to his Chinese customers without tariffs.

考虑到这一点，鲍曼一直在研究如何将其母料的某些生产阶段转移到亚洲——无论是中国还是印度。这样，他就可以绕开关税，将产品销售给他的中国客户。

“We could pull the trigger on that in 30 days,” he said.

“我们可以在30天内启动这个计划，”他说。

He would be taking business from his American suppliers and moving it to Asia — all because of a policy aimed at bringing jobs home.

他将把业务从美国的供应商转移到亚洲——而这一切，都是因为一项旨在将就业带回美国的政策。