	Background, Recent Activity, and Current Status

Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (TAA) provides federally-funded benefits to dislocated workers who are adversely affected by foreign trade. To be eligible for TAA benefits, separated workers must petition the Department of Labor (DOL) to establish that foreign trade contributed importantly to their job loss. It was last reauthorized by the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011 (TAAEA; Title II of P.L. 112-40 ). TAAEA specified that TAA would operate under one set of eligibility and benefit provisions through December 31, 2013, and then revert to more restrictive eligibility and benefit provisions beginning January 1, 2014. 113-235 ) appropriated funds for the program with the intent of continuing full operation of the TAA for Workers program through FY2015, including the certification of new workers. Under current law, only production workers (i.e., workers that produce an "article") are eligible to be certified. The petitioning firm is a supplier or a downstream producer to a TAA-certified firm and either (1) the sales or production for the TAA-certified firm accounted for at least 20% of the sales or production of the petitioning firm or (2) a loss of business with a TAA-certified firm contributed importantly to the workers' job losses. The change in eligibility criteria is not retroactive. Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance Eligibility

Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA) is a wage insurance program that provides a cash payment to qualified TAA-certified workers age 50 and over who obtain new employment at a lower wage. Benefits

TAA benefits include training subsidies and income support for workers who have exhausted their UI benefits and are enrolled in training. Due to the two-year period that a certification remains active and the length of the time that a worker may receive TAA benefits and services, workers certified under pre-2011 provisions may currently be eligible for other sets of benefits authorized by previous TAA provisions. The range of approved training includes a variety of governmental and private programs. Certified workers can receive an allowance equal to 90% of each of their job search and relocation expenses, up to a maximum of $1,250 for each benefit. A Relocation Allowance may be available to workers who have secured permanent employment outside their local commuting area . Trade Readjustment Allowance

Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA) is an entitlement that provides income support to certified workers who are in approved training and whose UI benefits have been exhausted. It is funded by the federal government and administered by the states through their unemployment insurance systems. The program provides a cash payment to an eligible worker equal to 50% of the difference between the worker's old wage and new wage. Group eligibility is determined by DOL and individual benefits are administered by cooperating state agencies. In FY2013, the TAA program was operating under the 2011 provisions, which meant that both production and services workers were eligible to be certified for benefits. Table 5 does not provide data on the number of TAA-certified workers who received non-training employment services such as case management and career counseling. These provisions were set to remain in place for one year until the program was scheduled to begin to be phased out after December 31, 2014. However, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 ( P.L.
Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (TAA) provides federal assistance to workers who have been adversely affected by foreign trade. It was most recently authorized by the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011 (TAAEA; Title II of P.L. 112-40). Under TAAEA, the program operated under one set of eligibility and benefit provisions through December 31, 2013, and then reverted to a more restrictive set of provisions on January 1, 2014. The TAA program was scheduled to be phased out beginning January 1, 2015, but the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L. 113-235) provided funding for the program and allowed it to continue full operation through FY2015.
To be eligible for TAA, a group of workers must establish that they were separated from their employment either because their jobs moved outside the United States or because of an increase in directly competitive imports. Workers at firms that are suppliers to or downstream producers of TAA-certified firms may also be eligible for TAA benefits. Under current law, only production workers are eligible. Under the TAAEA provisions that were in place through December 31, 2013, both production and service workers were eligible. Service workers who were certified prior to the change in eligibility may continue to receive benefits.
To establish eligibility for TAA benefits, a group of affected workers must petition the Department of Labor (DOL) and a DOL investigation must verify the role of foreign trade in the workers' job loss. Once a petition is certified by DOL, covered workers may apply for individual benefits. These benefits are funded by the federal government and administered by the states through their workforce systems. The specific group of benefits and services to which a worker is entitled is determined by the date of the petition that covers the worker. Benefits include a group of benefits and services to assist workers in returning to work.
Training subsidies are available if no suitable employment is available and a certified worker meets other criteria. Eligible training options include a variety of public and private programs. Employment services are provided to TAA-certified workers through state workforce agencies. These can include case management, career counseling, job search assistance, and other non-training services. Job search and relocation allowances are available to workers who seek employment outside of their commuting area. Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA) is an income support for TAA-certified workers who have exhausted their unemployment insurance (UI) and are enrolled in an eligible training program. TRA payments are equal to the workers' final UI benefit. Wage insurance is available to certified workers age 50 and over who obtain reemployment at a lower wage. 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.
This report provides background on the TAA program. It begins with descriptions of eligibility and benefits under both the current and previous provisions. The report then presents information on application activity, benefit usage, and participants' employment outcomes.