Trade Adjustment Assistance

The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Workers Program is a federal entitlement program that assists workers impacted by foreign trade. Through the provision of a number of employment-related benefits and services, the TAA Program provides trade-affected workers with opportunities to obtain the support, resources, skills, and credentials they need to return to the workforce in a good job in an in-demand industry. TAA Program services include: training, employment and case management services, job search allowances, relocation allowances, wage supplements for workers aged 50 and older, and income support in the form of Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA).

Under Section 239 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, each state, as an agent of the Department, carry out the activities of the TAA Program. States receive worker applications and provide benefits and services to eligible workers certified to receive TAA Program benefits. Each state provides these services through one or more state agencies, one of which is designated as the CSA in an agreement between the state’s Governor and the U.S. Secretary of Labor (Secretary); this agreement is known as the Governor-Secretary Agreement. The Governor-Secretary Agreement explains program requirements, limitations on the use of TAA Program funds, and other important grant provisions, including the TAA Program Annual Funding Agreement (AFA), that states must comply with in order to access TAA Program funding. There are also Standard Terms and Conditions applied to every grant issued by the Employment and Training Administration.

Employment/Labor/Management, Business/Commerce, Training, Vocational Education/State Workforce Agency/American Job Centers/Workforce Boards/

Once a member of a worker group is covered by a certification for eligibility to apply for TAA, the workers individually apply for benefits and services through the American Job Centers. TAA benefits and services have specific individual eligibility criteria that must be met, such as previous work history, unemployment insurance eligibility, and individual skill levels.

The TAA Program currently offers the following benefits and services to eligible individuals: training, weekly income support in the form of TRA, out-of-area job search and relocation allowances, employment and case management services, and a wage supplement for qualified older workers through A/RTAA.

Trade Affected Workers/Dislocated Workers/Individual/Family/Unemployed

Information alerting states of the availability of FY funds is communicated via Training and Employment Guidance Letters DOL publishes each fiscal year.

TAA is a mandatory entitlement and states execute agreements with between their State Governor and the Secretary of Labor to carry out the program. Awards are non-competitive.