Wilbur Ross

“The reality is if something were to happen that cost China jobs - like, if they upwardly revalued the currency a lot - those jobs aren't going to come back to the U.S. They would go to Vietnam; they would go to Thailand. They would go to whatever country was the lowest cost.”

“We're in a trade war. We've been in a trade war for decades. That's why we have the deficit.”

“Banking, I would argue, is the most heavily regulated industry in the world. Regulations don't solve things. Supervision solves things.”

“The problem with regional trade agreements is you get picked apart by the first country. Then you negotiate with the second country. You get picked apart. And you go with the third one. You get picked apart again.”

“The E.U. is one of our largest trading partners, and any negotiations legally must be conducted at the E.U. level and not with individual nations.”

“I am not anti-trade. I am pro-trade. But I am pro-sensible trade.”

“The fundamentals are the U.S. is going to end up being a net exporter of natural gas. That's going to be wonderful to help our balance of payments, reduce our dependence on a lot of countries that aren't so crazy about us, and change many, many parts of what goes on here.”

“Shipping has a great oversupply of vessels that came from over-ordering a few years back. We think 2014 may be when it turns around.”

“There are deep value opportunities in insurance stocks, which were beaten down because of their exposure to the subprime crisis, annuities, and commercial real estate.”

“If you add up all the promises any politicians makes, the math doesn't work.”

“A company not under sanction is just like any other company, period.”

“I think there's a big difference between the impact of trade agreements on corporate America and the impact on Mr. and Mrs. America. Corporate America has adjusted to them by investing lots of capital offshore... What we're doing is we're exporting jobs and importing products instead of exporting products and keeping jobs.”

“Confrontational things, admission of error, admission of defeat, restructuring, laying people off - those are not American ideals.”

“I still like TIPS (Treasury inflation-protected securities), and I think a big opportunity is coming in the municipal bond market.”

“There isn't a bank in the world that could withstand a run. They all borrow short and lend long, regardless of what they say.”

“Generally speaking, companies get into bankruptcy as a kind of meritocracy. Somebody made some sort of big mistake, to get into bankruptcy, and very often, a part of the mistake is too much leverage.”

“One of the problems with industries that have been in relatively long-term declines is that, very often, the managements in those industries develop a kind of loser mentality. And when you ask them what's wrong with the business, they'll point to extraneous forces.”

“The rules of origin in NAFTA need some tightening. Rules of origin are what let material outside of NAFTA to come in and benefit from all the taxes and tariff reductions within NAFTA.”

“It's important to have a sound idea, but the really important thing is the implementation.”

“If you think about it: a big bank in any country, what is it? Really, as an investment, it's a warrant on economy.”