Reinsch Receives WITA Lighthouse Award for Outstanding Leadership on Trade

Stimson Center Distinguished Fellow William Reinsch received the Lighthouse Award from the Washington International Trade Association at their annual Awards Dinner last night. The award recognizes individuals who have shown outstanding leadership on trade issues over their careers. Reinsch shared this year’s honor with Bill Lane, former Global Director of Government Affairs for Caterpillar Inc.

“It is a tremendous honor to be recognized by my colleagues with the Lighthouse Award,” said William Reinsch. “Trade is the engine that drives modern prosperity and growth. By continuing to remove boundaries and barriers we can open pathways for a more prosperous tomorrow in the U.S. and beyond.”  

William Reinsch is a Distinguished Fellow with the Stimson Center, where he works principally with the Center’s Trade21 initiative. Reinsch served as President of the National Foreign Trade Council from April 2001 to May 2016. The NFTC, founded in 1914, is the oldest and largest business association dedicated solely to trade policy, export finance, international tax, and human resource issues. The organization represents some 200 companies through its offices in New York and Washington, D.C. From 2001 to 2016, Reinsch concurrently served as a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. He previously served as Under Secretary for Export Administration in the U.S. Department of Commerce, and as a senior legislative aide to Senator John D. Rockefeller IV and Senator John Heinz.

“Global trade is the strategic focal point for many of today’s key issues,” said Trade21 Director Nate Olson. “We urgently need the guidance of people who can command respect across the political spectrum and translate substantive expertise into practical solutions. Bill Reinsch exemplifies that kind of leadership.”

WITA’s Annual Awards Dinner, also known as the “Trade Prom,” attracts leading decision makers, policymakers, and trade experts from Washington, D.C. and around the world. WITA’s other 2016 honorees included U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), and Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA).

Founded in 1989, the Stimson Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank devoted to addressing transnational challenges in order to enhance global peace and economic prosperity.

Contact: Jim Baird [email protected]; (202) 478.3413

 

Photo Credit: Nicole Venable

 

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