Former Trump aide becomes GM lobbyist

UPDATED: 8/1/18 12:21 pm ET – new story

WASHINGTON — Everett Eissenstat, a top White House finance and trade adviser, has joined General Motors as senior vice president for global public policy, the company said Wednesday.

Eissenstat, 55, spent the past year as deputy assistant to the president for international economic affairs and deputy director of the National Economic Council. In that role, Eissenstat also was the U.S. lead negotiator for the G-20, APEC and G-7 international economic summits.

The hiring of Eissenstat comes as GM and other automakers try to convince the Trump administration not to act on threats to exit NAFTA or impose tariffs on automobiles and other trade restrictions that raise costs.

Eissenstat previously was chief international trade counsel for the Senate Finance Committee from 2011 to 2017, where he managed international economic issues. He was an assistant in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, helping to negotiate and implement international trade agreements for the Americas region for five years.

Over the past 20 years, he has been closely involved in every aspect of NAFTA and the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement, as well as playing a key role in the passage of legislation modernizing U.S. trade and customs law.

“Everett Eissenstat has had a distinguished career in public policy managing complex issues around the world,” GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. “His broad experience interacting at the highest levels of government, both within the U.S. and globally, and his track record for partnering and building relationships on both sides of the aisle make him a perfect fit to represent GM and our employees on key policy issues.”

Eissenstat, a native of Oklahoma, earned his law degree from the University of Oklahoma and a bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish from Oklahoma State University. He has a master of arts degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.

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