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Ford Loses Another Veteran Hand in Washington During Trade Talks

Ford Loses Another Veteran Hand in Washington During Trade Talks

(Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co., embroiled in trade talks with President Donald Trump’s administration, is losing its second veteran lobbyist in Washington this summer as Steve Biegun, who ran international affairs, has left to join the State Department as a special representative to North Korea.

Ford said in a statement that Biegun, 55, will retire Aug. 31 after 14 years as vice president of international government affairs. Biegun has been directing Ford’s Washington office since chief lobbyist Ziad Ojakli left last month to join Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. Now Curt Magleby, vice president of U.S. government relations, will lead Ford’s lobbying efforts on an interim basis while the company searches for Ojakli’s replacement.

The churn among Ford’s top lobbyists comes as Trump negotiates a revised North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada, and automakers struggle to push back on the administration’s proposed tariffs on imported autos. A proposal to increase tariffs on cars imported from Mexico, where Ford builds the Fusion and Lincoln Continental sedans, is said to be a sticking point in reaching a deal on NAFTA.

Before joining Ford, Biegun, was national security adviser to then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Republican from Tennessee who left the Senate in 2007. Biegun also worked in the administration of President George W. Bush, serving as executive secretary of the National Security Council from 2001 to 2003.

Pompeo and Biegun are traveling to North Korea next week to discuss plans for dismantling the country’s nuclear weapons program, Pompeo said in a video shown on Twitter.

To contact the reporter on this story: Keith Naughton in Southfield, Michigan at knaughton3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net, David Welch, Jamie Butters

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