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Trade Adjustment Assistance Program

General FAQ's

1. What is Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms?

Answer: Established by Congress in 1974, Trade Adjustment Assistance is a program sponsored by the Department of Commerce and put in place to help American manufacturers who have been hurt by foreign competition. Acting as a group of non-profits, the eleven TAA centers throughout the US work with eligible firms in marketing, production, management and many other areas.

2. What can Trade Adjustment Assistance do for my firm?

Answer: Firms receiving Trade Adjustment Assistance have experienced the following benefits: improved business performance, monetary assistance for certain projects, an objective analysis of their firm as well as the competition, and ongoing support to improve business and profits.

3. How can I find out if I am eligible?

Answer: U.S. manufacturers who have experienced a decline in sales and a decline, or impending decline, in employment or worker hours may be eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance. For the most accurate and up to date information on whether or not your firm qualifies for grant funding, e-mail gyoumans@nystaac.org or call 607-771-0875 or 212-921-1662.

Cost to the Firm

4. How much is this really going to cost my firm?

Answer: The maximum government portion of implementation is $75,000 and this is a 50/50 cost share program with the firm. That means that the firm can invest an additional $75,000 towards its improvement. All costs are discussed fully during the certification phase, which is provided free of charge.

5. When do I have access to the grant funding?

Answer: Typically, the first two phases take from three to six (3-6) months to complete. The certification phase can take up to sixty days from when the petition is submitted to Washington. Once certification is received, the Adjustment Plan can take two to three months to prepare and submit depending on the complexity of the firm and the readiness of the needed information.

6. Do you charge my firm for completing the application?

Answer: No! The application is completed by NYS TAAC free of charge.

Funding Usage

7. Can I use the grant funding for anything I want?

Answer: No; specific projects are outlined in the Adjustment Plan written by a project manager who works directly with the principal contact at the firm (designated by the firm). Funds can be used to pay for outside industry experts to consult on a wide variety of projects. Grant funds cannot be used to purchase capital equipment or to subsidize employee salaries.

8. Can I use the funds for more than one project?

Answer: Yes; projects are specified in the Adjustment Plan and are implemented based on agreement of both the firm and NYS TAAC.

9. Do I have to complete all designated projects?

Answer: No; designated projects should be completed at any time within two years from the start of the implementation phase, however projects are only started and completed based on the cash flow of the firm and the firm's comfort in moving forward.

10. Can I use the funding for employee training?

Answer: Yes; funds can be used for on or off-site employee training, however cannot be used to subsidize any salaries.

11. Can I use the funding for ISO certification? How much will you pay?

Answer: Yes; funds can be used for ISO certification, and NYS TAAC will cost share those with the firm. We will help pay for training, document preparation, and the pre-assessment audit.

12. Can I buy equipment?

Answer: No; capital equipment cannot be bought with grant funding.

13. Can I develop molds and tooling?

Answer: Yes; new molds and tools can be developed and used in the design stage; however funds cannot be used for the actual end products.

14. Can I buy software to improve our efficiency?

Answer: Funds cannot be used to buy new software systems in full, however funds can be used to test programs and adapt existing software to fit the needs of your firm.

15. Can I use the funding to attend trade shows?

Answer: Funds can be used to develop new trade show displays but not to attend a trade show.

Implementation FAQ's

16. Can our firm use the money to implement projects on our own?

Answer: Funds are not paid directly to the firm. Once an outside consultant is hired, the consultant is paid by both the firm and by NYS TAAC.

17. Who picks the consultants, and what happens if we don't like them?

Answer: An RFP (Request for Proposal) is prepared for each project by NYS TAAC and sent to qualified consultants. The list of consultants can come from the firm and from NYS TAAC. NYS TAAC and the firm's principal representative review the applications and choose a consultant. A contract is signed and any party may terminate with written notice throughout the duration of the relationship.

18. How do the consultants get paid?

Answer: Consultants bill 50% to the firm and 50% to NYS TAAC. The consultant is paid by NYS TAAC only once NYS TAAC has received notification that the consultant has been paid by the firm.

Information Sharing

19. Will my competitors find out about my financial information or trade secrets?

Answer: No, NYS TAAC and the central TAA office are prohibited from releasing any information to outside sources.

20. Will financial or other information be shared with the IRS or other Government Agencies?

Answer: None of the information you provide is disclosed to any other federal, state or local agency. All proprietary and financial information is exempt from the Freedom and Information Act. When a firm is certified, the law requires that the firm name be published in the Federal Register. It is the only information that is released to the public without your consent.

21. How much detail will I be required to report and for how long?

Answer: The Cost Share Agreement you sign requires your firm to provide follow up information to NYS TAAC for three years. A form will be provided to you to complete and sign. Only three items will need to be reported: (1) the current revenues, (2) the current employment level and (3) the total profits for the current year. This information helps to track the success of the program and will again not be shared with any outside party.

Other Questions

22. Is this the same thing as Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers?

Answer: No, but for more information on that program, you can visit them on the web at http://www.doleta.gov/programs/factsht/taa.cfm or call 202-693-3560.

23. How do I get started?

Answer: Contact the NYS TAAC today by phone at 607-771-0875 or 212-921-1662, or by e-mail at gyoumans@nystaac.org.