Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers: Background and Current Status

Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers: Background and Current Status

Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers:
Background and Current Status
Updated July 19, 2023
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
R47200

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Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers: Background and Current Status

Contents
Background ..................................................................................................................................... 1
Program Rationale and Authorizing Statute .............................................................................. 1
Financing and Administration ................................................................................................... 2
Financing and FY2023 Funding ......................................................................................... 2
Administration .................................................................................................................... 2
Major Components of the TAA Program .................................................................................. 3
Eligibility ............................................................................................................................ 3
Benefits ............................................................................................................................... 3
Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2015 ............................................................ 4
TAARA Sunset Provisions and Reversion 2021 ....................................................................... 4
Termination Provisions under TAARA ..................................................................................... 5
Selected Activity in the 117th Congress ........................................................................................... 6
Selected Activity in the 118th Congress ........................................................................................... 6

Contacts
Author Information .......................................................................................................................... 6

Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers: Background and Current Status

rade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (TAA) provides federal assistance to workers who
involuntarily lose their jobs due to foreign competition.1 The primary benefits for TAA-
T eligible workers are funding for training and reemployment services as well as income
support while a worker is enrolled in training.
In accordance with the termination provisions of the Trade Adjustment Assistance
Reauthorization Act of 2015 (TAARA, Title IV of P.L. 114-27), the TAA program entered a
phased termination beginning July 1, 2022. After this date, no new petitions will be certified, but
previously participating workers can continue to receive benefits.2
This report discusses the TAA program in its current context. The first section provides brief
background on the authorization and operation of the program. The next section describes
TAARA and the implementation of its sunset provisions and termination provisions. The last
section describes congressional activity since the July 1, 2022, effective date of the termination
provisions, which has not included an enacted extension of the program.
Implementation of the TAA Termination Provisions
Beginning July 1, 2022, the TAA termination provisions took effect. Under these provisions, no new worker
groups may be certified, but workers who were receiving benefits prior to the termination date may continue to
receive benefits. The TAA program has continued to operate and receive appropriations to serve workers who
established eligibility for the program prior to the effective date of the termination provisions.

Background
This section provides a brief description of TAA. For more detail on program operation,
eligibility, and benefits, see archived CRS Report R44153, Trade Adjustment Assistance for
Workers and the TAA Reauthorization Act of 2015.3
Program Rationale and Authorizing Statute
Reduced barriers to international trade are widely acknowledged to offer benefits to consumers in
the form of increased choices and lower prices. Expanded trade may also offer opportunities to
firms that produce goods or supply services for increased exports. Reduced barriers to trade may,
however, have concentrated negative effects on domestic industries and workers who face
increased competition.4 TAA is designed to provide readjustment assistance to workers who

1 In addition to the program for workers, other Trade Adjustment Assistance programs are authorized for firms and
farmers that have been adversely affected by international trade. This report discusses the program for workers. From a
budgetary standpoint, the workers program is substantially larger than the programs for firms. The TAA for Farmers
program was last funded in FY2011 but remains authorized in statute. For more information on the TAA for Firms
program, see CRS In Focus IF12430, Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms.
2 The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued guidance to states on the operation of the program under the termination
provisions. See Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 14-22, “Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for
Workers Program Phase-out Termination Frequently Asked Questions,” April 14, 2023, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/
eta/advisories/tegl-14-22; and TEGL 13-21, “Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Workers and Alternative Trade
Adjustment Assistance (ATAA) and Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance (RTAA) Program Operations after
June 30, 2022,” https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-13-21.
3 DOL also publishes annual reports on the TAA program that include program data and information on program
operation. The most recent report is for FY2021. See https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/tradeact/reports.
4 For more information on international trade, see CRS Report R45148, U.S. Trade Policy Primer: Frequently Asked
Questions.
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Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers: Background and Current Status

suffer dislocation (job loss) due to foreign competition or offshoring. Generally, TAA provides a
more robust set of benefits and services than would be available to a worker who lost his or her
job for reasons other than foreign competition.5
TAA is authorized by Title II of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended.6 Historically, it has been
reauthorized alongside expansionary trade policies.7 It was most recently reauthorized in 2015 by
TAARA.
Financing and Administration
TAA is funded by federal appropriations. It is jointly administered by the U.S. Department of
Labor (DOL) and cooperating state agencies.
Financing and FY2023 Funding
TAA is a direct spending (also referred to as mandatory) program, and thus is funded by
mandatory appropriations that are enacted in annual appropriations acts. Typically, appropriation
statutes appropriate a single sum that supports all TAA activities.8 DOL then allocates these funds
to various program functions. States may expend training and reemployment service funds in the
year of allotment or in either of the next two fiscal years.
While the termination provisions took effect in July 2022, the program has continued to receive
funding to support benefits to workers who established eligibility prior to the effective date of the
termination provisions.
In FY2023, the pre-sequestration appropriation for TAA was $494 million. TAA is subject to
mandatory spending sequestration under the Budget Control Act of 2011, as amended.9
In its FY2024 budget justification, DOL estimated that approximately $31 million for TAA would
be required to fund current-law reduced costs under the termination provisions.10
Administration
TAA is jointly administered by DOL and cooperating state agencies. DOL reviews group
petitions, makes group eligibility determinations, allots appropriated funds to cooperating state
agencies, and oversees grantees. Benefits to individual members of certified groups are provided

5 For more information on other workforce programs, see CRS Report R43301, Programs Available to Unemployed
Workers Through the American Job Center Network.
6 See 19 U.S.C. §2271 et. seq.
7 For a history of TAA reauthorization, see the appendix of CRS Report R44153, Trade Adjustment Assistance for
Workers and the TAA Reauthorization Act of 2015.
8 Funds for TAA are typically appropriated under “Federal Unemployment Benefits and Allowances” in the Labor,
Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
9 DOL typically issues guidance describing the application of sequestration and how the appropriation will be divided
among TAA program functions. No such guidance has been issued for FY2023 funding. Guidance for FY2022 funding
was issued as DOL Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 15-21, issued June 15, 2022, https://www.dol.gov/
agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-15-21.
10 Department of Labor FY2024 Congressional Budget Justification, Employment and Training Administration, Federal
Unemployment Benefits and Allowances, https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/general/budget/2024/CBJ-2024-V1-
06.pdf. The budget justification also included a legislative proposal with an estimated budgetary cost of $293 million.
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through state workforce systems and state unemployment insurance systems.11 States are
responsible for collecting participation and outcome data and reporting these data to DOL.
DOL has issued guidance to states to inform their operation of the program under the termination
provisions.12
Major Components of the TAA Program
Eligibility for TAA is established by group petitions. Workers who are covered by a certified
petition pursue benefits through state agencies.
As noted above, in accordance with program termination provisions, no new petitions are being
certified after July 1, 2022. The eligibility procedures and benefit descriptions that follow pertain
to participants from prior certified petitions who are receiving benefits.
Eligibility
To establish eligibility, a group of workers who had been laid off or threatened with a layoff filed
a petition with DOL. A union, firm, or state workforce agency was also eligible to file a petition
on the workers’ behalf. After receiving a petition, DOL conducted an investigation to determine if
foreign competition “contributed importantly” to the workers’ job loss and if the circumstances of
the layoff met statutory eligibility criteria.13
Benefits
Individual benefits are funded by the federal government and administered by state agencies
through their workforce systems and unemployment insurance systems. Benefits available to
individual workers include the following:14
• Training and reemployment services are designed to assist workers in
preparing for and obtaining new employment. Training subsidies support workers
in developing skills for a new occupation. Workers may also receive case
management services and job search assistance. In some cases, workers who
pursue employment outside their local commuting area may be eligible for job
search or relocation allowances.
• Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA) is a weekly income support payment
for TAA-certified workers who have exhausted unemployment insurance and are
enrolled in an eligible training program. Weekly TRA payments are equal to the

11 For more information on state workforce systems, see CRS Report R44252, The Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act and the One-Stop Delivery System. For more information on state unemployment insurance systems,
see CRS Report RL33362, Unemployment Insurance: Programs and Benefits.
12 DOL Training and Employment Guidance Letter 14-22, “Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Workers Program
Phase-Out Termination Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs),” April 14, 2023, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/
advisories/tegl-14-22.
13 Group eligibility criteria are established in Section 222 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. §2272).
Detailed descriptions of group eligibility are also in CRS Report R44153, Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers
and the TAA Reauthorization Act of 2015 and the TAA FY2021 annual report at https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/
ETA/tradeact/pdfs/AnnualReport21.pdf.
14 The benefit descriptions in this section are somewhat general and, except where noted, typically apply to both the
provisions that were initially in effect after the enactment of TAARA and under the Reversion 2021 provisions (see the
“TAARA Sunset Provisions and Reversion 2021” section) that were in effect from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022.
For a detailed comparison of benefits under the two sets of provisions, see https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/
tradeact/pdfs/side-by-side.pdf.
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worker’s final weekly unemployment benefit. Workers may collect
unemployment insurance and TRA for a combined maximum of 130 weeks.15
• Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance (RTAA) is a wage insurance
program available to certified workers age 50 and over who obtain reemployment
at a lower wage.16 The wage insurance program provides a cash payment equal to
50% of the difference between the worker’s new wage and previous wage, up to
a two-year maximum of $10,000.17
• The Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) is a credit equal to 72.5% of
qualified health insurance premiums. Eligibility is aligned with TRA. Unlike
other TAA benefits, it is administered through the tax code. The HCTC is
authorized separately from other TAA benefits and had a full sunset date of
January 1, 2022.18
Workers typically only receive a subset of the available benefits. In some cases, the limitation is a
matter of policy (e.g., statutory provisions limit a worker’s ability to collect both TRA and RTAA)
but in most cases only receiving a portion of the available benefits is a worker’s choice.19
Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization Act of
2015
TAA was most recently reauthorized by TAARA in June 2015.20 TAARA (Title IV of P.L. 114-27)
was part of a bill that extended other trade-related policies. TAARA was also passed in
conjunction with a separate bill that reauthorized the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA; Title I of
P.L. 114-26). TPA (also known as fast track authority) grants the President authority to negotiate
trade agreements, which are then subject to an up or down vote in Congress.21
TAARA Sunset Provisions and Reversion 2021
TAARA established an initial set of eligibility and benefit provisions that were in effect between
the effective date of TAARA and June 30, 2021 (hereinafter, the “2015 provisions”). TAARA
included sunset provisions that took effect July 1, 2021.22 The sunset provisions reduced

15 The final 13 weeks of TRA (i.e., weeks 118-130) are only available if necessary for the worker to complete a
qualified training program.
16 Statute establishes an offset for RTAA recipients who previously received TRA. See Section 246(a)(4) of the Trade
Act of 1974.
17 Under the Reversion 2021 provisions, the wage insurance program is called “Alternative Trade Adjustment
Assistance” but the design and operation are generally similar to RTAA.
18 For more information on the HCTC and its sunset, see CRS Report R44392, The Health Coverage Tax Credit
(HCTC): In Brief.
19 For example, in FY2021 95% of TAA participants received employment services and case management, 51%
received training, 11% collected RTAA or wage insurance, and less than 1% received a job search allowance or
relocation allowance. See Table 11 of the FY2021 TAA annual report.
20 TAARA also reauthorized the TAA programs for firms and farmers. For more information on TAARA and those
programs, see CRS Report RS20210, Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms; and CRS Report R40206, Trade
Adjustment Assistance for Farmers.
21 For more information on TPA, see CRS In Focus IF10038, Trade Promotion Authority (TPA); and CRS In Focus
CRS In Focus IF11400, Presidential Authority to Address Tariff Barriers in Trade Agreements.
22 See Section 406 of P.L. 114-27.
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eligibility and benefits for new program participants.23 TAARA specified that the reduced
provisions (referred to as “Reversion 2021” in DOL documents) would be in place from July 1,
2021, through June 30, 2022. The most significant changes included the following: 24
• Reduction of eligible sectors. Under the 2015 provisions, production workers
and service workers could qualify for TAA. Under the Reversion 2021
provisions, only production workers were eligible; new petitions from groups of
service workers were no longer eligible.
• Reduction of layoff circumstances that are TAA-eligible. Under the 2015
provisions, groups of workers could qualify for TAA under the “shift in
production” criteria if their jobs were shifted to any foreign country. Under the
Reversion 2021 provisions, workers would largely have been eligible under these
criteria only if their jobs were moved to a country with which the United States
has a free trade agreement.25
• Reduction in training funding cap. Under the 2015 provisions, the statutory
cap for “training and other activities” is $450 million. Under the Reversion 2021
provisions, the cap was limited to training and reduced to $220 million.26
The Reversion 2021 provisions were not retroactive. Workers from groups certified under the
2015 provisions would continue to be eligible under those provisions even if the eligibility
provisions that they were certified under are no longer in effect for new participants.
Termination Provisions under TAARA
On July 1, 2022, the termination provisions of TAARA took effect.27 These provisions specify
that DOL may not provide benefits under the TAA program after that date, with the exception that
previously participating workers may continue to receive benefits. New petitions may not be
investigated or certified after the termination date. TAARA does not have a hard sunset date for
workers who were receiving benefits prior to the July 1, 2022, termination date.
State systems continued to operate for workers who were receiving benefits prior to the
termination date. Prior to these termination provisions taking effect, DOL issued guidance to state
agencies on how to implement them.28 The guidance specified that workers would continue to
receive benefits under the version of the program that was in place at the time the workers’ group
petition was certified.

23 Workers who were certified under the 2015 provisions could continue to receive benefits under those provisions.
24 For a more detailed discussion, see DOL Training and Employment Notice No. 1-21; “Frequently Asked Questions
Relating to Trade Adjustment Assistance Program Reversion 2021, July 1, 2021, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/
advisories/training-and-employment-notice-no-01-21.
25 Shifts in production to countries that are beneficiaries under certain non-FTA trade agreements may also be covered.
26 The funding structures under the 2015 provisions and the Reversion 2021 are somewhat different. Under Reversion
2021, Congress may appropriate additional funds beyond the cap for administration and case management. Under the
2015 provisions, the $450 million cap is inclusive of administration and case management costs.
27 The TAA termination provisions are in Section 285 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended by Section 406 of P.L.
114-27.
28 See DOL Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 13-21; “Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Workers
and Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA) and Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance (RTAA)
Program Operations after June 30, 2022,” issued June 10, 2022, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-
and-employment-guidance-letter-no-13-21.
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Selected Activity in the 117th Congress
While the 117th Congress did not enact an extension of TAA, there was some activity around the
program, and it was included in two broader pieces of House-passed legislation.
• In March 2021, the House Ways and Means Committee’s Trade Subcommittee
held a hearing on reauthorizing the TAA program.29
• In June 2021, the Trade Adjustment Assistance Modernization Act of 2021 (H.R.
3974) was introduced. The bill was sponsored by the chair of the House Trade
Subcommittee and was co-sponsored by most majority members of the
subcommittee. The bill was not marked up. H.R. 3974 would have extended the
authorization of TAA through FY2028 and made expansions to program
eligibility and benefits.
• In November 2021, the House passed the Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376),
which included provisions that would extend the authorization of TAA through
FY2028 and included expansions similar to those in H.R. 3974. The TAA
provisions were not included in the enacted version of H.R. 5376.
• In February 2022, the House passed the America COMPETES Act (H.R. 4521),
which included language that would extend the authorization of TAA through
FY2028 and included program expansions similar to those in H.R. 3974. The
TAA provisions were not included in a subsequent Senate-passed version of H.R.
4521.
Selected Activity in the 118th Congress
In June 2023, the American Worker and Trade Competitiveness Act (H.R. 4276) was introduced.
The bill was sponsored by the ranking member of the House Trade Subcommittee. The bill would
extend the authorization of TAA through FY2030, make expansion to program eligibility and
benefits, and make other non-TAA changes to trade policy. This bill has not received committee
consideration as of the cover date of this report.

Author Information

Benjamin Collins

Analyst in Labor Policy

29 House Ways and Means Committee, Trade Subcommittee, “Trade Subcommittee Hearing on Reauthorizing Trade
Adjustment Assistance: Opportunities for Equitable Access and Modernization,” March 4, 2021,
https://waysandmeans.house.gov/event/hearing-on-reauthorizing-trade-adjustment-assistance-opportunities-for-
equitable-access-and-modernization/.
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