
William Reinsch holds the Scholl Chair in International Business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and is a senior adviser at Kelley, Drye & Warren LLP. Previously, he served for 15 years as president of the National Foreign Trade Council, where he led efforts in favor of open markets, in support of the Export-Import Bank and Overseas Private Investment Corporation, against unilateral sanctions, and in support of sound international tax policy, among many issues. From 2001 to 2016, he concurrently served as a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. He is also an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, teaching courses in globalization, trade policy, and politics.
Reinsch also served as the under secretary of commerce for export administration during the Clinton administration. Prior to that, he spent 20 years on Capitol Hill, most of them as senior legislative assistant to the late Senator John Heinz (R-PA) and subsequently to Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV). He holds a B.A. and an M.A. in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies respectively.
Areas of Expertise
Media Queries
- H. Andrew Schwartz
- Chief Communications Officer
- 202.775.3242
- aschwartz@csis.org
- Paige Montfort
- Media Relations Manager, External Relations
- 202.775.3173
- pmontfort@csis.org
William Alan Reinsch's Reports

Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Optimizing Export Controls for Critical and Emerging Technologies
When it comes to export controls on critical and emerging technologies, the United States must focus on regulating items essential to national security while permitting the growth of industries that do not aid foreign military capabilities.
Report by William Alan Reinsch , Emily Benson , Thibault Denamiel , and Margot Putnam — May 31, 2023

Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity
Report by Emily Benson , Japhet Quitzon , and William Alan Reinsch — May 30, 2023

Green Industrial Strategies: Takeaways for Transatlantic Trade
Brief by William Alan Reinsch , Emily Benson , and Thibault Denamiel — March 15, 2023

Analyzing the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
Brief by Emily Benson , Joseph Majkut , William Alan Reinsch , and Federico Steinberg — February 17, 2023
William Alan Reinsch’s Commentary

Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
Affirming Globalization While Trying to Kill It
This week, the Scholl Chair examines criticisms of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative from different ends of the political spectrum regarding the IPEF’s digital trade rules.
Commentary by William Alan Reinsch — May 30, 2023

Disability Provisions in Trade Agreements
Commentary by William Alan Reinsch and Margot Putnam — May 26, 2023

Just Get On with It
Commentary by William Alan Reinsch — May 22, 2023

The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same
Commentary by William Alan Reinsch — May 15, 2023

Whose Fault Is It Anyway?
Commentary by William Alan Reinsch — May 8, 2023
In the News
Partial U.S.-Taiwan trade deal is a first step, but China still hates it
William Alan Reinsch in The Washington Post — June 1, 2023
Biden’s Asia Trade Ambitions Shadowed by Deal Trump Ditched
William Alan Reinsch in Bloomberg — May 26, 2023
US, Taiwan Agree to Lift Trade, Clouding Planned China Talks
William Alan Reinsch in Bloomberg — May 18, 2023
Democrats signal growing frustration with globalization
William Alan Reinsch in The Hill — May 15, 2023
U.S.-Made Technology Is Flowing to Sanctioned Russian Airlines
William Alan Reinsch in The New York Times — May 15, 2023
US Tech Giants Imperil TikTok Ban by Lobbying to Narrow Bill
William Alan Reinsch in Bloomberg Law — April 21, 2023
TikTok Could Get a Lifeline From Big Tech as a US Ban Looms
William Alan Reinsch in Bloomberg — April 19, 2023
Outside voices: Trade’s ‘new narrative,’ at the intersection of economic and national security
William Alan Reinsch in Inside Trade — April 14, 2023
All content by William Alan Reinsch
Filter by
The Airing of Grievances
Podcast Episode by Scott Miller and William Alan Reinsch — June 5, 2023

Assessing IPEF’s New Supply Chains Agreement
Critical Questions by Aidan Arasasingham , Emily Benson , Matthew P. Goodman , and William Alan Reinsch — May 31, 2023
Optimizing Export Controls for Critical and Emerging Technologies
Report by William Alan Reinsch , Emily Benson , Thibault Denamiel , and Margot Putnam — May 31, 2023
Econ Coercion, Micron Ban and More
Podcast Episode by H. Andrew Schwartz , Scott Miller , and William Alan Reinsch — May 31, 2023

Affirming Globalization While Trying to Kill It
Commentary by William Alan Reinsch — May 30, 2023
Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity
Report by Emily Benson , Japhet Quitzon , and William Alan Reinsch — May 30, 2023
Disability Provisions in Trade Agreements
Commentary by William Alan Reinsch and Margot Putnam — May 26, 2023
Crash Course: Trade Policy with the Trade Guys
Just Get On with It
Commentary by William Alan Reinsch — May 22, 2023
Gen Z Meets the Trade Guys
Podcast Episode by Scott Miller and William Alan Reinsch — May 18, 2023
