Bill Would Renew the Successful Trade Adjustment Assistance Program Which for Almost 50 Years Provided Skills Training, Job Search and Relocation Support for Millions of Displaced American Workers
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) introduced the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Reauthorization Act of 2025 to support workers in Michigan and across the country who have lost their jobs due to harmful trade policies. The TAA Program, which expired in 2022, offers a range of services to support displaced workers, including skills training, job search and relocation assistance, and extended income support.
Since its creation in 1974, more than 5 million Americans have benefitted from the TAA Program, with more than 75 percent of participants successfully finding new jobs within six months. In Fiscal Year 2021, the final full year in which the program operated, nearly 4,300 Michigan workers utilized support services through the TAA Program. Among those workers, of which 96 percent were employed in the manufacturing sector, approximately 78 percent found new jobs. Since the program expired, nearly 200,000 workers have filed petitions to receive assistance through the program but have been unable to receive help given the lapse in authorization.
The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Reauthorization Act of 2025 – which Peters introduced with U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) – would reauthorize the TAA Program through 2031 to help ensure American workers, particularly in manufacturing industries, have access to the resources they need to transition to new employment opportunities if they lose their jobs as a result of unfair trading practices. Reauthorizing this successful program would also support the broader U.S. economy and American manufacturers by providing the stability needed for long-term growth.
“When harmful trade policies fail our workers, we need to make sure they have the support and resources to both find, and successfully transition to, new opportunities. Providing this assistance not only supports workers and families, it helps keep our economy running strong,” said Senator Peters. “You can’t be a great country if you don’t make things, and we can’t make things if we don’t stand up for American workers. That’s why I’m leading the charge to reignite this critical program to ensure workers aren’t left out to dry when global trade landscapes change, while bolstering America’s manufacturing sector and economic competitiveness.”
The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Reauthorization Act of 2025 is supported by the United Auto Workers (UAW), United Steel Workers (USW), AFL-CIO, and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).
Peters has been a champion for American workers and manufacturers. Peters was an original cosponsor and strong supporter of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Reauthorization Act of 2024 and joined other efforts to extend and reform the program. Peters also previously introduced legislation prior to the TAA Program expiring, called the TAA for Automation Act, to support workers who lose their jobs due to artificial intelligence (AI). Peters is also a cosponsor and staunch advocate of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, comprehensive legislation to protect workers’ right to stand together and bargain for higher wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces.
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