Trade Adjustment Assistance Program Largely Helpful, Says GAO Official in Testimony

The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Firms program has largely been a help to U.S. companies that are hurt as a result of increased imports due to loosened trade barriers, said Alfredo Gomez, acting director of International Affairs and Trade at the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Gomez testified Nov. 14 before the House Oversight Committee Government Organization subcommittee. The Nov. 14 hearing, focused on evaluating trade adjustment assistance, was previously postponed. The GAO testimony is (here).

(The TAA for Firms program provides technical assistance to help trade-impacted, economically distressed firms make adjustments that may enable them to remain competitive in the global economy. In fiscal years 2009 through 2012, the Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration (EDA) received $15.8 million annually for the TAA for Firms program, said GAO. EDA uses its appropriation for the TAA for Firms program to fund 11 TAA Centers.)

The GAO found there to be "a small positive and statistically significant relationship between program participation and sales," according to the testimony. "Overall, we estimate that the effect of participation in the program was an increase in firm sales, ranging from 5 to 6 percent on average, if all other factors are held constant. The effect was greater for firms with 300 or fewer employees, which account for 95 percent of firms in our sample." The GAO also found that participants were generally happy with their experience. GAO surveyed companies that participated in the program in FY 2009, receiving responses from 117 of the 163 firms. "More than 90 percent of responding firms reported that they were either very or generally satisfied with the services they received from their TAA Center and the consultants who performed work for them," said the GAO.

Also testifying in support of the program were Bryan Borlik, director of the TAA program and Williams Bujalos, director for the mid-Atlantic TAA center.