A firm must be certified as eligible by the U. S. Department of Commerce,
Trade Adjustment Assistance Division in order to receive trade assistance.
The Southwest TAAC will, at no cost to the firm, help the firm prepare a
petition for certification. To be certified, a firm must show that
competitive imported products have significantly contributed to a decline
in sales and a decline in employment. Once a firm is certified, it has two
years to submit a specific plan describing the project for which it
intends to receive cost sharing benefits.
A firm must show a decline in sales or production in the most recent 12 months compared to
the prior 12 months. If overall declines are not evident, the firm may be
able to demonstrate declines in one product line if that product accounted
for at least 25% of the total sales of the firm.
The company must show evidence of separation (or threat of separation) of a significant portion of the
firm’s workers. An employment decline of 5% or 50 or more employees is
considered significant.
The petition will include information about the company’s related firms;
economic history; owners and managers; articles produced and sold; sales,
production and employment data. The petition will require support
documentation such as financial statements, federal income tax returns;
quarterly employment reports; and enough customer references who, in the
most recent twelve month period, have reduced purchases in favor of
imports to account for 5% of the sales decline.
All information is kept
confidential.
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