TAA Law
The Trade Act of 1974 (Pub. L. No. 93-618), as amended (the Act) (codified at 19 U.S.C. §§ 2271 et seq.), Title II, Chapter 2, established the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (TAA), Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA), and Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance (RTAA) programs. These programs, collectively referred to as the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program (TAA Program), provide assistance to workers who have been adversely affected by foreign trade. The Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2015 (TAARA 2015 or 2015 Program), (Pub. L. No. 114-27, Title IV), reauthorized and changed key provisions of the Act on June 29, 2015, restoring numerous provisions from the 2011 Amendments to the program. On July 1, 2022, the termination provision under Section 285(a) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, took effect. Until further notice, the Department may not issue any determinations and may not accept any new petitions or requests for reconsideration.
In addition to the statutory and regulatory language, the Department operates the TAA Program through cooperating state agencies (CSAs) that sign an agreement to operate the program (the Governor-Secretary Agreement, last revised in 2016) and through administrative guidance issued by the Department to provide updates and clarifications on how the program is to be administered by CSAs.
Information about the current authorizing statutes and their previous versions can be found on the Statutes page.
The Department established regulations regarding the management and implementation of the TAA Program. Find the regulations governing the program's administration on the Regulations page.
Guidance on TAA Program operations and requirements are made available for state workforce agencies to aid in the administration of the program through Trade and Employment Guidance Letters (TEGLs) and Trade and Employment Notices (TENs). Current TEGLs and TENs governing the TAA Program can be found on the Directives and Guidance page.
An archive of historic reference materials can be found on the Archives page.