ZCZC
BCN-26
US-GOVERNMENT-TRADE-ETHICS
Commerce secretary Ross to divest assets after ethics office scolding
WASHINGTON, July 13, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on
Thursday said he would sell all his remaining equity holdings after the
government’s federal ethics agency said his failure to divest some assets
“created the potential for a serious criminal violation.”
Ross released a letter from the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) on
Thursday which said he failed to report certain investments that could create
a conflict of interest.
The OGE said it had not identified any deliberate intention to conceal the
investments.
But, it pointed out that “even inadvertent errors” regarding ethics
compliance can “undermine public trust in both you and the overall ethics
program.”
It added Ross “created the potential for a serious criminal violation” of
conflict of interest law.
Ross acknowledged in a statement that he had “made inadvertent errors in
completing the divestitures required by my ethics agreement,” adding that his
investments were “complex and included hundreds of items.”
“To maintain the public trust, I have directed that all of my equity
holdings be sold and the proceeds placed in U.S. Treasury securities,” he
said.
The case came to light in June when Forbes magazine reported that Ross —
a multimillionaire who made his fortune in energy and steel — had financial
ties with Chinese state-owned enterprises and had transferred his interests
to family members.
Forbes reported that the transfers were not illegal — but indicated Ross
would have been lying by stating he had ended all investments in November
2017, in keeping with his government commitments, while he held more than $10
million in shares in investment company Invesco.
The administration of US President Donald Trump is currently locked in a
protectionist trade war with several countries including China — a policy
that Ross, among others, has worked to implement.
BSS/AFP/HR/1025