The Cutting Edge™ - February 2004

Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms Program (TAA)

(For more information, visit www.taacenters.org)

Here is a program that you may want to check out. This little known program, provided by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the US Department of Commerce, was created in 1962 to assist US manufacturers get back on their feet because of foreign competition. We are not talking about unfair or illegal foreign competition --- the program provides matching funds for companies whose revenues or employment have been adversely affected by imports for at least two years. (Please don’t confuse this program with the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Employees Program administered by the US Department of Labor which provides benefits workers who are unemployed or underemployed due to foreign competition.)

TAA offers 50/50 cost sharing of projects aimed at improving a manufacturer's competitive position up to a maximum of $150,000. Specifically, these matching funds are applied toward the cost of consultants, engineers, designers or industry experts for improvement projects in areas such as:

• Manufacturing (e.g., CE certification, product development, inventory management)

• Engineering (e.g., product engineering, product design and testing)

• Marketing (e.g., export development, market research, brochure development, distributor search, sales force training and development)

• Information technology (office automation, EDI, custom programming, integrated manufacturing systems)

• Quality (e.g., quality assurance, product/process certification).

• Financial and General Management (e.g., succession planning, profit planning, cash management, organizational analysis)

The assistance is not limited to one specific project nor is it limited to the listing above. For each manufacturer, a tailored plan is developed by the TAA staff. Furthermore, import competition does not have to be the major concern. A firm may be eligible if it experienced sales and employment declines at least partially due to imports over the last two years.

The program is administered by 12 regional not for profit centers which simplifies a firm's participation in the program by preparing the application and guiding a firm through each phase of the program.

As with many federal programs there are some concerns. Funding is only about $10.5 million resulting in a backlog at many of the regional centers. Not all centers handle its caseload in a similar manner and for this reason it makes good sense to contact one of the TAACs listed below to discuss their backlog and how it is administered before getting your hopes up that you could receive assistance in the near term.

Regional Trade Adjustment Assistance Centers

Great Lakes Trade Adjustment Assistance Center, 734-998-6213
Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio

Mid-America Trade Adjustment Assistance Center, 816-246-1555
Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri

Mid-Atlantic Trade Adjustment Assistance Center, 610-666-7800
Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia

Midwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center, 312-368-4600
Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin

New England Trade Adjustment Assistance Center, 617-542-2395
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont

New Jersey Trade Adjustment Assistance Center, 609-292-0360
New Jersey

New York State Trade Adjustment Assistance Center, 607-771-0875
New York

Northwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center, 206-622-2730
Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington

Rocky Mountain Trade Adjustment Assistance Center, 303-499-8222
Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming

Southeastern Trade Adjustment Assistance Center, 404-894-3858
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee

Southwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center, 210-458-2490
Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas

Western Trade Adjustment Assistance Center, 213-743-2732
Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada

For more information visit their website, http://www.taacenters.org