Trade Act Programs: Regulations
Regulations relevant to the management and implementation of the Trade Act Programs.
Regulations - 20 CFR, Part 618 (Format: HTML)
In the first substantive rulemaking on the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program in over 15 years, the Department is issuing a regulation implementing changes to the TAA funding formula, as required by The Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act of 2009 (TGAAA) (P.L. No. 111-5). The TGAAA, which was part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, reauthorized and substantially expanded the TAA program. The rule also requires (with exceptions) that TAA-funded personnel administering services and benefits to workers covered by certifications must be state employees covered by a merit system of personnel administration.
Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers Under the Trade Act of 1974
The Department is working to propose regulations to implement new law. However, no substantive changes have been made since 1994 to the current TAA regulations on TAA benefits codified at 20 CFR part 617 and no substantive changes have been made since 1987 to the TAA regulations on the petition and group certification process codified at 20 CFR part 90. As a result, the regulations at part 617 and part 90 may not reflect some of the statutory changes that have occurred since those regulations were published. You will need to consult the directives issued when the statute changed to find out how the statutory changes were implemented. See Directives for more up-to-date guidance on applying new law that these regulations do not address.
- 20 CFR, Part 617 (Format: HTML)
Purpose: "The [Trade Act of 1974] created a program to assist individuals, who became unemployed as a result of increased imports, return to suitable employment. The [Trade Adjustment Assistance] program provides for reemployment services and allowances for eligible individuals. The regulations in the part 617 are issued to implement the Act." 20 CFR 617.2 - 29 CFR, Part 90 (Format: HTML)
Purpose: The purpose of this part 90 is to set forth regulations relating to the responsibilities vested in the Secretary of Labor by the Trade Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-618), as amended, concerning petitions and determinations of eligibility to apply for worker adjustment assistance. Section 248 of the Act directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations which will implement the provisions relating to adjustment assistance for workers. This part will provide for the prompt and effective disposition of workers' petitions for certification of eligibility to apply for adjustment assistance.
