Wilbur Ross: Trump Is Right About NAFTA, CEOs Wrong to Quit President’s Councils

The Associated Press
The Associated Press

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross criticized business leaders who quit White House advisory panels this summer.

“Remember, most of these people in the business community included on those councils didn’t vote for the president to begin with. They were mostly supporters of the other candidate,” Ross said at a Washington Post event Friday.

Ross singled-out Tesla chief Elon Musk as one of the anti-Trump CEOs. “Elon Musk is not exactly a right-wing person,” Ross said.

Musk was one of the first CEOs to quit a White House panel, resigning after the president rejected the Paris Climate Accords. His company manufactures electric cars and stood to be a beneficiary of anti-emissions rules that the accords would likely have required.

“I think what’s sad is for business leaders to give up an opportunity to influence policy over some singular issue with which they disagree. I don’t think that’s very well considered,” Ross said.

Ross also defended the president’s ongoing threats to exit NAFTA, according to Politico. Ending the trade agreement would be “the right thing” if renegotiation efforts are not successful.

“The president has made clear that if they don’t work, he’s going to pull out … and really, that’s the right thing,” he said. “We need fixes to this deal. It has not worked the way that it was intended to.”

Ross’s comments stand in stark contrast to the criticism of the president that has reportedly put White House economic adviser Gary Cohn’s job in jeopardy.

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