U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross told the Wall Street Journal that trade actions on aluminum, semiconductors and shipbuilding are under review as well as plans to start free-trade talks directly with Japan, the United Kingdom and European Union even as plans to look at existing free-trade pacts with South Korea and the North America free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

In a wide ranging interview, Ross, 79, pledged to look at issues as diverse as providing support to Westinghouse Electric Co., the nuclear-reactor company owned by Japan's Toshiba that filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. last month.