General Motors tapped a former top Trump administration trade official to help lead its global public policy efforts at a time when the carmaker is warning of decreased profits stemming from a burgeoning trade war.
[More: GM warns Trump tariffs may force production cuts, layoffs]
The company announced on Wednesday it hired Everett Eissenstat, the former deputy director of the National Economic Council, as a senior vice president. Eissenstat, who also previously served as the chief international trade counsel for the Senate Finance Committee, joins GM just days after the company said President Trump’s new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports was increasing supply costs.
“Everett Eissenstat has had a distinguished career in public policy managing complex issues around the world,” 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.”
Trump earlier this year ended the exception for key trading allies on the new 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports. Since then, the European Union, Canada, Mexico and others have imposed retaliatory tariffs. The administration is also locked in an escalating trade conflict with China. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on as much as $500 billion in Chinese goods and Beijing has vowed to retaliate dollar-for-dollar.
