William A. Reinsch was reappointed to the Commission by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for a fifth term expiring December 31, 2009.
On April 2, 2001, Commissioner Reinsch joined the National Foreign Trade Council as President. The council, founded in 1914, is the only business organization dedicated solely to trade policy, export finance, international tax, and human resource issues. The organization represents some 300 companies through its offices in New York and Washington, DC
Prior to joining the National Foreign Trade Council, Reinsch served as Under Secretary for Export Administration in the U.S. Department of Commerce. As head of the Bureau of Export Administration (subsequently renamed the Bureau of Industry and Security), he was charged with administering and enforcing the export control policies of the U.S. government, as well as its anti-boycott laws. In addition, the bureau is part of an interagency team helping Russia and other newly emerging nations develop effective export control systems and convert their defense industries to civilian production. Through its Office of Strategic Industries and Economic Security, the bureau is also responsible for monitoring and protecting the health of U.S. industries critical to our national security and defense industrial base and assisting in domestic defense conversion efforts. Major accomplishments during his tenure included: refocusing controls in light of economic globalization, most notably on high-performance computers, microprocessors, encryption, and other items; the first complete revision of the Export Administration regulations in over forty years; revising the interagency process for reviewing applications; and permitting electronic filing of applications over the Internet.
From 1991 through 1993, Commissioner Reinsch was a senior Legislative Assistant to Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, 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.
From 1977 to 1991, Commissioner Reinsch served on the staff of the late Senator John Heinz as Chief Legislative Assistant, focusing on foreign trade and competitiveness policy issues. During that period, Senator Heinz was either Chairman or ranking minority member of the Banking Committee's Subcommittee on International Finance. He was also a member of the International Trade Subcommittee of the Finance Committee. Commissioner Reinsch provided staff support for the Senator on both subcommittees, which included participation in five revisions of the Export Administration Act and work on four major trade bills. Prior to 1977, Commissioner 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.
During his tenure as Under Secretary, Commissioner Reinsch delivered more than two hundred speeches and testified fifty-three times before various committees of Congress. His publications include "Why China Matters to the Health of the U.S. Economy," in Economics and National Security: The Case of China, 2002;" The Role and Effectiveness of U.S. Export Control Policy in the Age of Globalization," The Monitor (Center for International Trade and Security: Spring 2000); "Export Controls in the Age of Globalization," The Monitor (Center for International Trade and Security: Summer 1999); "Should Uncle Sam Control U.S. Technology Exports?" Insight Magazine, September 8, 1997; "Encryption Policy Strikes a Balance," Journal of Commerce, March 5, 1997; "Building a New Economic Relationship with Japan," in I.M. Destler and Yankelovich, D., eds., Beyond the Beltway: Engaging the Public in U.S. Foreign Policy (W.W. Norton: April 1994).
In addition to his legislative work, Commissioner 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 and of the Executive Council on Diplomacy.
Commissioner Reinsch received a B.A. degree in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University and an M.A. degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He is married with two children and lives in Bethesda, Maryland.