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The District Export Councils play a major role in the planning and coordination of export activities for their communities.
As a leading organization serving the international business community, DECs have the capacity to facilitate the development of an effective export assistance network and can assist in coordinating the activities of trade assistance partners to leverage available resources. DECs, a leading international business organization is able to assist in the development of an efficient export assistance network and in the coordination of trade assistance partners in order to maximize the utilization of resources.
For over 30 years, DECs have served the U.S. by assisting companies in their local communities to export, thus promoting our country’s economic growth and creating new and higher-paying jobs for their communities. The 59 DECs, affiliated with the U.S. Commerce Department's & U.S. Export Assistance Centers, combine the energies of nearly 1,500 exporters and export service providers to promote exports nationwide.
Members volunteer their time to sponsor and participate in numerous trade promotion activities. They also supply specialized expertise to small and medium-sized businesses that are interested in exporting. Each Executive Committee works with the membership to create an annual strategic plan that involves all members in mission fulfillment.
In 1960, the President asked the Secretary of Commerce to enlist the efforts of the U.S. business community in enlarging export opportunities for American firms.
Responding to this challenge, the National Export Expansion Council was formed. In response, to stimulate greater business participation in the national export expansion effort, the President signed an Executive Order in 1973 that directed the Secretary of Commerce to establish District Export Councils throughout the United States.
Under the authority of the U.S. Department of Commerce, 41 DECs were established by the Secretary of Commerce in 1974. Around 1,000 business and trade experts were selected to serve on the newly formed DECs. Since then, the DECs and its membership have grown to meet the needs of U.S. exporters.
Under the Secretary’s guidelines, District Export Councils were created to promote local exports. The DECs are not subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act and receive no government funding or compensation as volunteers. They lack security clearances because they cannot access classified information.
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