Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) is a group of four programs that separately target federal assistance to workers, firms, farmers, and communities that have been adversely affected by foreign trade. TAA was created by the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (P.L. 87-794) and has been reauthorized and expanded several times in subsequent years, most prominently as part of the Trade Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-618), the Trade Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-210), the Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act of 2009, and the Act to extend the Generalized System of Preferences, and for other purposes (including Title II, the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011) (P.L. 112-40).
The largest TAA program, TAA for Workers (TAAW), is administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Reduced trade barriers are widely acknowledged to yield benefits to the wider population but may also have concentrated effects on domestic workers in industries that face increased competition. TAAW aims to mitigate these adverse effects by providing federal assistance to workers who have been separated from their jobs because of increased imports or because their jobs moved to a foreign country. The largest components of the TAAW program are training assistance and extended income support for workers who are enrolled in an eligible training program and have exhausted their unemployment compensation. Under the 2011 reauthorization, TAAW eligibility and benefits are set to be reduced in 2014 and the program will expire at the end of 2014.
Other TAA programs target firms, farmers, and communities that have been affected by trade. Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms was created alongside TAAW in 1962 and is administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC). It provides federal funding to pay for technical assistance from industry experts to improve firms’ international competitiveness. Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers was first authorized in 2002 and is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It targets producers of agricultural commodities and fishermen who are adversely affected by increased imports and provides technical assistance as well as seed money to implement the recommended operational adjustments. Trade Adjustment Assistance for Communities was created in 2009 and is administered by DOC and DOL. Under the 2011 reauthorization, the program was pared back from what was authorized in 2009 and was limited to provide grants to eligible higher education institutions to offer, develop, or improve training opportunities for workers covered by the TAAW program.
This chapter of the Green Book includes a series of Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports, one of which provides a legislative history of TAA and the others discuss TAA programs. A subsequent section lists all Tables and Figures contained in these CRS reports, and includes additional tables and figures related to TAA. The chapter also includes Links to Additional Resources.
The House Ways and Means Committee is making available selected reports by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) for inclusion in its 2011 Green Book website. CRS works exclusively for the United States Congress, providing policy and legal analysis to Committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of party affiliation.
R41922: Trade Adjustment Assistance and Its Role in U.S. Trade Policy
R42012: Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Workers
R40863: Trade Adjustment Assistance for Communities: The Law and Its Implementation
RS20210: Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms: Economic, Program, and Policy Issues
R40206: Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers
Tables and Figures in CRS Reports
The following tables and figures related to TAA can be found in the CRS reports section of this Green Book chapter.
R41922: Trade Adjustment Assistance and Its Role in U.S. Trade Policy
Appendix. TAA Reauthorization, 1962-2011
R42012: Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Workers
Table 1. TAA Group Certification Requirements Under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011
Table 2. TAA Benefits Under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011
Table 3. Petitions and Certifications, FY2003-FY2010
Table 4. Training and Benefit Data for TAA-Certified Workers, FY2003-FY2010
Table 5. Ten Largest Recipients of TAA Training Funds, FY2010
Table 6. Trade Readjustment Allowance Participation and Costs, FY2003-FY2010
Table 7. Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance, FY2003-FY2010
Table 8. Employment Outcomes for TAA Exiters
R40863: Trade Adjustment Assistance for Communities: The Law and Its Implementation
Table 1. Elements EDA will Consider When Evaluating Strategic Plans
Table 2. Authorization and Appropriation Levels for CTAA
Table 3. Authorization Levels and Appropriations for the Community College and Career Training Grant Program: FY2009-FY2012
RS20210: Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms: Economic, Program, and Policy Issues
Table 1. Firm TAA Authorizations and Appropriations, FY2001-2011
Table 2. Trade Adjustment Assistance, Select Program Indicators for FY2003-2010
R40206: Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers
Table 1. TAAF Funding and Outlays by Type, FY2003-FY2011
Table 2. Certified TAAF Petitions, Fiscal Years 2004-2011
Table 3. Activity Under Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers Program, FY2003-FY2011
Additional Tables and Figures Related to Trade Adjustment Assistance
The following additional tables and figures appear in this section of the Green Book chapter on TAA.
TAA for Workers Participation and Outcome Statistics by State in FY2010 (from DOL-ETA)
https://www.doleta.gov/tradeact/TAPR_2010.cfm
Data on Employment Outcomes for TAA for Workers exiters (from DOL-ETA)