Louisiana District Export Council

General information

The Louisiana District Export Council is an organizations of business leaders from around the state, appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, whose knowledge of and expertise in international business provides a source of professional advice for Louisiana's exporting firms. Closely affiliated with the U.S. Export Assistance Center in New Orleans and the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, the LDEC supports the U.S. Government’s export promotion efforts.

LDEC members volunteer their time and specialized expertise to assist small and medium-sized businesses throughout Louisiana to establish or increase export sales, thus helping to promote our country’s economic growth and creating new and higher-paying jobs for their communities.

LDEC members also sponsor and participate in numerous trade promotion activities, as well as advocate for effective trade policy positions. In addition, the LDEC plays a major role in the planning and coordination of export activities across the state. As a lead organization serving the international business community, the LDEC has the capacity to facilitate development of an effective export assistance network and can assist in coordinating the activities of trade assistance partners to leverage available resources.

In an effort to increase LDEC outreach, the LDEC has partnered with several state and local trade promotion organizations, such as the Louisiana Department of Economic Development, the World Trade Center of New Orleans, Metrovision, Le Centre International de Lafayette, the Southern U.S. Trade Association, and the University of New Orleans / Louisiana Small Business Development Center.

In addition to local partnerships, the LDEC has also partnered with the Export-Import Bank of the United States and the U. S. Small Business Administration in developing export finance programs and credit insurance.

The LDEC also serves as a communications link between the business community and the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service, and support the export expansion activities of the U.S. Commerce Department in a variety of ways within their communities.

While DECs are a creation of the U.S. Government and individual DEC members receive governmental appointments. neither DECs nor DEC members represent the U.S. Government in their capacity as DECs or as DEC members, respectively.