About the Trade Program

The Trade Adjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (TAA) is a federal program that provides special assistance to workers who lose their jobs as a result of increased foreign imports or, under certain conditions, a shift of production outside of the United States.

In order to be eligible for Trade program benefits and services, you must be a worker who lost their job at a company and location certified by the Department of Labor as a Trade affected employer.

Goal of the Program

The goal of the TAA Program is to help dislocated workers obtain suitable reemployment as quickly as possible. Suitable employment is defined as a job of equal or higher skill level with wages not less than 80% of those earned at adversely affected employment at the time of layoff.

The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Program provides assistance such as retraining, job search and relocation assistance and helps dislocated workers obtain reemployment as quickly as possible.
The Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA) is a benefit of the TAA Program, and is a weekly allowance payable to individuals enrolled in training, or waived from training. TRA is payable after entitlement to unemployment insurance has been exhausted.
The TAA Program is closely coordinated with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Dislocated Worker Program. Continue to access services through the Dislocated Worker Program while considering your options under the TAA Program.

What Law Are You Covered Under?

The Federal Trade Act of 1974 was amended in 2015, 2011, 2009 and 2002 (see Statutes & Regulations). The mix of benefits and services will be different based on when petitions were filed.

Petition Number

If you don’t know your company's petition number, you may identify it by conducting a search on the US DOL website using your company name. The petition number corresponds with the law governing the TAA Program at the time the TA-W number was assigned.

The petition number also indicates whether the benefits that may be available to you are those under the 2015, 2011, 2009 or 2002 Law.

If your 5-digit petition # begins with 85 or higher, you're potentially eligible under 2015 Law.
If your 5-digit petition # begins with 8, you're potentially eligible under 2011 Law.
If your 5-digit petition # begins with 7, you're potentially eligible under 2009 Law.
If your 5-digit petition # begins with 5 or 6, you're potentially eligible under 2002 Law.

For more program information, please refer to the appropriate participant handbook based on when your petition was filed.

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