In 1962, however, Congress adopted an additional approach by providing trade adjustment assistance (TAA) directly to trade-affected firms and workers. TAA program authorizations are scheduled to expire on December 31, 2013, and the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2013 ( S. 1357 ) would extend them through 2020. President Obama also has supported TAA reauthorization, linking it to renewal of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). This report discusses the role of TAA in U.S. trade policy, from its inception as a legislative option in the early 1950s, to its core role as a cornerstone of modern trade policy that many argue has served to promote the long-term U.S. trade liberalization agenda. The Democratic platform included a specific appeal for TAA as part of an expanded trade policy. In the end, the Trade Act of 1974, known for its dramatic changes in how trade agreements would be considered under new expedited procedures, also provided a congressional imprint of support for TAA by carefully considering ways to enhance the program, and ensuring its prominence by linking it to the major trade bill providing renewed trade agreements authority to the President. TAA was also caught up in the deficit reduction negotiations, losing much of the clout it may have had years before, when it was part of finding compromise in broader trade and foreign policy debates. The Republican position also pressed for tying TAA reauthorization to legislation that would renew TPA and implement bills for the then-pending FTAs with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea, whereas the Democrats argued that TAA should be reauthorized apart from these issues. Congress responded with passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. First, Congress had to write a TAA bill that would garner sufficient bipartisan support in both houses. The process began on September 7, 2011, with House passage of a bill to reauthorize the Generalized System of Preferences ( H.R. The Compromise TAA Bill

Congressional leaders and the White House agreed on a compromise TAA bill (the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act of 2011) that found a middle ground between the provisions in the Trade Act of 2002 and the TGAAA. The TAA bill reauthorized the workers, firms, and farmers programs through December 31, 2013. The firms and farmers TAA programs were reauthorized at annualized levels $16 million and $90 million, respectively, less than in ARRA, but comparable to current (and historical) appropriated levels. On the other hand, 50 years of history suggest that the debate on TAA tends to return to congressional consideration of broader trade liberalizing legislation—the granting of TPA.
Congress created Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) in the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to help workers and firms adjust to dislocation that may be caused by increased trade liberalization. It is justified now, as it was then, on grounds that the government has an obligation to help the "losers" of policy-driven trade opening. TAA is also presented as an alternative to policies that would restrict imports, and so provides assistance while bolstering freer trade and diminishing prospects for potentially costly tension (retaliation) among trade partners. As in the past, critics strongly debate the merits of TAA on equity, efficiency, and budgetary grounds. Nonetheless, finding agreement on TAA remains important for forging a compromise on national trade policy.
TAA program authorizations are scheduled to expire on December 31, 2013. The Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2013 (S. 1357) was introduced in the 113th Congress. It would extend TAA programs through 2020. President Obama also supports TAA reauthorization, linking it to renewal of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), which Congress may also take up this year. This report discusses the role of TAA in U.S. trade policy from its inception as a legislative option in the early 1950s to its core role as a cornerstone of modern trade policy that many argue has served to promote the long-term U.S. trade liberalization agenda.
When TAA was reauthorized through December 31, 2013 in the 112th Congress, Democratic leaders and the Obama Administration considered TAA a quid pro quo for passage of three implementing bills for free trade agreements (FTAs) with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. There was, however, considerable partisan debate over the direction TAA should take. Congress had expanded TAA in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 from an earlier version in the Trade Act of 2002. The issue before the 112th Congress was how to craft a compromise TAA bill that would receive bipartisan support in the both houses, and assure its passage along with the three implementing bills. Such an understanding was developed and became part of H.R. 2832, a bill to reauthorize the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). In an elaborate legislative procedure, both chambers passed the four trade bills on October 12, 2011.
TAA reauthorization in the 113th Congress will likely revive a historical debate over the role of TAA as part of broader trade policy. Legislation introduced so far reflects a status quo extension of existing programs through the end of 2020, including reauthorization at existing levels of $16 million and $90 million, respectively, for the firms and workers programs. Nonetheless, Congress may take up a broader debate on the issue, if history provides any guidance.