TradeAlert.org was founded by the U.S. Business and Industry Council Educational Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit research and educational organization dedicated to improving the American people's awareness of critical public policy issues in such diverse fields as trade, taxation, education, health care, foreign relations, defense, and national security, among others. USBICEF is affiliated with the U.S. Business and Industry Council, a 501(c)(6) non-profit business association.
The U.S. Business and Industry Council is a national organization of business owners and executives dedicated to making the U.S. domestic economy the world's leading engine of economic growth. The USBIC Educational Foundation is its research arm. Only a robust national economy, balanced in capabilities and dynamic in operation, can provide the material base for an American society that is stable at home and secure in the world.
The USBIC was founded in 1933 to represent the concerns of America's small and medium-sized business community. Member companies are typically family-owned or privately held, mostly in the manufacturing sector. They are often the major employers in their home communities and the mainstays of the local economy. This membership composition has given the USBIC an outlook on issues more rooted in mainstream America than other national business groups, which are dominated by giant multinational corporations with global agendas and dwindling national loyalties.
Because it does not represent only a single industry, but has approximately 1,000 member companies in 44 states, USBIC has always based its policy positions on a national interest standard -- i.e., the positions that it takes must be good for the country as a whole, both now and in terms of its future strength, rather than reflecting the narrow interests of a particular company or industry. USBIC favors lower taxes, since high hamper economic growth. Government levies on families, estates, and capital gains are particularly burdensome. It also opposes regulations that retard productive activities, especially in the development of new domestic energy sources that are needed to power a strong national economy.
Unlike many other business groups, USBIC is concerned about the impact of "globalization" on American society and independence. The huge and growing trade deficits undermine the country's industrial base -- including its defense industries, reduce personal incomes for most Americans, and threaten the financial system as indebtness to foreign corporations and governments mounts. The result is that the United States grows weaker as its vulnerabilities to overseas events increase.
The so-called philosophy of "globalization" with its emphasis on transnational organizations like the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, an International Criminal Court, and a web of suffocating agreements like the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty threaten U.S. sovereignty,which is the only firm guarantee of American liberty, values, and standard of living. As has been true since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution a quarter millennium ago, a strong economy and a strong defense go together, safeguarding the country and its people. USBIC is dedicated to keeping this connection in the forefront of American policy-making. If the United States is to maintain its pre-eminent position in the world, while continuing to prosper and advance traditional American values, it must adopt economic policies that focus on improving the productivity, capabilities, knowledge, and the wealth of the people who reside in this country
The United States must also act to advance its interests overseas; to maintain its access to resources and markets; to protect trade routes and allies; and to guard against aggression and adverse changes in the international balance of power. Building a strong national economy does not isolate America from the world, but on the contrary assures that America has the means to shape internatoinal events to its own advantage and deal with them on its own terms.
The USBIC Educational Foundation was founded in 1967 to be the research arm of USBIC and to educate both policy makers and the American public on issues of concern to USBIC member companies. To carry out this task in the area of international trade and 'globalization,' USBIC Educational Foundation started this web site in March 2001.