Obama designates Schmidtlein ITC chairman

President Obama has designated Missouri Democrat Rhonda Schnare Schmidtlein chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission for a term that will expire June 16, 2018.    As one of his last acts before leaving office, President Obama has designated Missouri Democrat Rhonda Schnare Schmidtlein chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) for a term that will expire June 16, 2018.
   The ITC is an independent, nonpartisan, quasi-judicial federal agency that provides trade expertise to both the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government. Commissioners are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate for nine-year terms, unless they are appointed to fill unexpired terms.
   Schmidtlein was nominated to the ITC by Obama on July 15, 2013; renominated on Jan. 6, 2014; and confirmed by the Senate on March 6, 2014. She was sworn in as a member of the commission on April 28, 2014, for the term expiring on Dec. 16, 2021.
   She previously served two years as a consultant to the World Bank before her appointment to the ITC. From 2005-2011, she served as the founding director of the office created to implement the international obligations of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. She also worked in the General Counsel’s office at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative from 1998 to 2003.