Vice Chairman William Reinsch was reappointed to the Commission by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid for a sixth two-year term expiring December 31, 2011. He was elected as Vice Chairman of the Commission for the 2012 report cycle effective January 1, 2012, and previously served as Chairman of the Commission for the 2011 report cycle.
Vice Chairman Reinsch served as Under Secretary for Export Administration in the U.S. Department of Commerce. As head of the Bureau of Export Administration, later named the Bureau of Industry and Security, Vice Chairman Reinsch was charged with administering and enforcing the export control policies of the U.S. Government; including its anti-boycott laws. Major accomplishments during his tenure included refocusing controls regarding economic globalization, most notably on high-performance computers, microprocessors, and encryption, completing the first revisions of the Export Administration regulations in over forty years. In addition, he revised the interagency process for reviewing applications and permitted electronic filing of applications over the Internet. During this time, Vice Chairman Reinsch delivered more than two hundred speeches and testified fifty-three times before various committees of the Congress.
Before joining the Department of Commerce, Vice Chairman Reinsch was a senior Legislative Assistant to Senator John Rockefeller, and was responsible for the Senator’s work on trade, international economic policy, foreign affairs, and defense. He also provided staff support for Senator Rockefeller’s related efforts on the Finance Committee and the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.
For over a decade, Vice Chairman Reinsch served on the staff of Senator John Heinz as Chief Legislative Assistant, focusing on foreign trade and competitiveness policy issues. During that period, Senator Heinz was either the Chairman or the Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee’s Subcommittee on International Finance. Senator Heinz was also a member of the International Trade Subcommittee of the Finance Committee. Vice Chairman Reinsch provided support for the Senator on both subcommittees. This work included five revisions of the Export Administration Act and work on four major trade bills. Prior to joining Senator Heinz’s staff, Vice Chairman Reinsch was a Legislative Assistant to Representatives Richard Ottinger and Gilbert Gude, acting Staff Director of the House Environmental Study Conference, and a teacher in Maryland.
Today Vice Chairman Reinsch is president of the National Foreign Trade Council. Founded in 1914, the Council is the only business organization dedicated solely to trade policy, export finance, international tax, and human resources issues. The organization represents over three hundred companies through its offices in New York City and Washington.
In addition to his legislative and private sector work, Vice Chairman Reinsch served as an adjunct associate professor at the University of Maryland University College Graduate School of Management and Technology, teaching a course in international trade and trade policy. He is also a member of the boards of the Middle East Institute, the Executive Council on Diplomacy, and KHI Services, Incorporated.
His publications include “Why China Matters to the Health of the U.S. Economy” published in Economics and National Security. “The Role and Effectiveness of U.S. Export Control Policy in the Age of Globalization” and “Export Controls in the Age of Globalization”, both published in The Monitor. In addition, Vice Chairman Reinsch has published “Should Uncle Sam Control U.S. Technology Exports” published in Insight Magazine. “Encryption Policy Strikes a Balance” published in the Journal of Commerce, and “Building a New Economic Relationship with Japan” published with others in Beyond the Beltway: Engaging the Public in U.S. Foreign Policy.