Former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is returning to business, with his rolodex bolstered by his time in government. He recently launched a new investment firm, Ross Acquisition II, with former trade advisor Larry Kudlow. It’s not the first time Ross’s finances have overlapped with his government work. In 2018, a GAI analysis of US imports found Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross maintained stakes in shipping companies that were transporting goods for which he was negotiating tariff exemptions.:
Import records show that 55 percent of shipments carried by Nautical Bulk since May 2016 consisted of South Korean steel. South Korea, the third largest exporter of steel to the US, was granted an exemption to the Trump administration’s 25% tariff on steel and aluminum in earlier this year. The Commerce Department is responsible for Section 232 investigations, the power under which the steel tariffs were implemented.
Despite the Commerce Department’s direct role in these discussions, the Office of Government Ethics allowed Ross to keep his stakes in several international shipping companies, including Nautical Bulk Holdings, after assuming office in March 2017. Ross’s spokesperson claimed that tariff investigations and trade negotiations have no “direct and predictable impact” on the Commerce Secretary’s assets, “the legal standard” for conflicts of interest. Nonetheless, records show that nearly 92 percent of the total imports carried aboard Nautical Bulk’s ships since May 2016 consisted of steel products targeted by the recent tariffs.
Read the full report here.
Ross spent decades in finance prior to being appointed Commerce Secretary in 2017. The political tinge to many of his investments is now posed to continue long beyond his tenure in office.
Jacob McLeod is a director of research at Government Accountability Institute. Follow Jacob McLeod on Twitter @tweetsbymcleod.
