Trade Act

Trade Adjustment Assistance

The Trade Act of 1974, as amended, 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), aid workers who have been adversely affected by foreign trade. A petition must be filed with the U.S. Department of Labor for certification before a worker group can receive benefits under these programs. Benefits include, but are not limited to, employment and case management services, classroom training, on-the-job training, apprenticeship training etc. For more information about this program, contact taacoordinator@wv.gov.

Trade Readjustment Assistance

Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA) provides income support payments to individuals who are participating in full-time training under the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program. An individual is potentially eligible for a total of 130 weeks of income support. For more information about this program, contact tra@wv.gov.

Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance

The Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance (RTAA) program is a wage subsidy program for individuals 50 years and older who have returned to employment making less than the Trade certified employer, but no more than a projected $50,000 per year. The RTAA program pays the eligible individual 50% of the difference between the wages received from the Trade certified employment and the new employment. The individual may be eligible to receive these benefits for up to 2 years from the date of reemployment or $10,000, whichever comes first. For more information about this program, contact tra@wv.gov.

Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance

The Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA) program is a wage subsidy program for individuals 50 years or older who have returned to employment making less than the Trade certified employer but no more than a projected $50,000 per year. The ATAA program pays the eligible individual 50% of the difference between the wages received from the Trade certified employment and the new employment. The individual may be eligible to receive these benefits for up to 2 years from the date of reemployment or $10,000 whichever comes first. An individual receiving this benefit may receive TAA relocation benefits, but is not eligible to receive any other benefits, including training, TRA payments, and job search allowances.
ATAA is available under the TAA Reversion 2021 Law and applies to petitions that were filed on or after 07/01/2021 with assigned petition numbers of 98000 or above. For more information about this program, contact tra@wv.gov.

Note:

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.  Requests to amend current certifications may still be filed.  Workers who were certified and separated from their job on or before June 30, 2022, may still be eligible for benefits and services and should contact the State TAA office for further information.

At this time the Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance (RTAA) and the Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA) wage subsidy programs are not available to workers who did not access this benefit before July 1,2022.