Trade Adjustment Assistance

By Christian Losche, Research Associate for GLOBAL ID, LLC

The Trade Adjustment Assistance program is for workers affected by an increase in international trade. With the numerous benefits of foreign trade, it is difficult to not pursue that avenue from an economic standpoint. When employees are either laid off, or hours are severely cut due to trade, the Trade Adjustment Assistance program helps these workers in different ways. The program provides for training to acquire a new job, if the reason for the lay-off can be linked to increased trade. The program also provides income support and job search and relocation allowances, among other benefits. Although this program is a step in the right direction for trade-affected workers, it still is being criticized for inaccurate methods of allocating funds and inaccurate data. The focus must remain on the fact that the program, although not perfect, is in place to help trade affected workers find re-employment in a short period of time, which is an extremely positive program.