Posted November. 26, 2016 07:20,
Updated November. 26, 2016 08:39
As a senior economic advisor among 14 economic advisors for Trump during the presidential election, Ross led millions of dollars associated fund raising activities and raised his profile in the Rust Belt through his policy narratives on negative impact of free trade agreements. In his September report, he concluded that the free trade deal between the U.S. and Korea, which was led by Hillary Clinton, is diabolical and as much as 95,000 jobs disappeared in the U.S. In a series of interviews he had with media during the election campaign, he said the U.S. must free itself from the bondage of “bad trade agreements” and advocated high tariffs on Chinese goods. Ross is expected to spread protectionism around the new administration if selected as commerce secretary.
A former chairman of global financial firm Rothschild, he is a chairman of the private-equity company WL Ross & Company. He is famous as an investor for buying, restructuring and selling off steel, coal and telecom companies and any other failing firms.
His associates in the financial sector remained cautious, saying, “Ross has expressed huge interests in Korea’s steel making industry since the Asian financial crisis and Ross being selected as commerce secretary could be good or bad.” “Ross has shown strong trust for the Korean economy’s fundamentals and he knows a lot about security and economy of Korea,” one trade expert said. “Ross may not present some whimsical policy requests regarding bilateral trade, but, at the same time, he could press the Korean government, leaving no room to relax.”
If Ross, whose fortune amounted to 2.9 billion dollars in 2014, is selected as commerce secretary, Trump’s team will be filled with gazillionaires, a word derived from “gazillion.” Political news media Politico reported that the sum of money Trump and his secretary nominees are holding will be more than 35 billion dollars.