Trade Adjustment Assistance
Industry Certification Would Likely Make More Workers Eligible, but Design and Implementation Challenges Exist Gao ID: GAO-07-919 June 29, 2007Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) is the nation's primary program providing job training and other assistance to manufacturing workers who lose their jobs due to international trade. For workers to receive TAA benefits, the Department of Labor (Labor) must certify that workers in a particular layoff have lost their jobs due to trade. Congress is considering allowing entire industries to be certified to facilitate access to assistance. GAO was asked to examine (1) trends in the current certification process, (2) the extent to which the proposed industry certification approach based on three petitions certified in 180 days would increase eligibility and identify potential challenges with this approach, and (3) the extent to which an approach based on trade remedies would increase eligibility and identify potential challenges. To address these questions, GAO analyzed data on TAA petitions, mass layoffs, trade, production, and trade remedies. GAO also interviewed Labor and ITC officials. GAO is not making recommendations at this time. Labor reviewed the report and did not provide comments. The ITC provided technical comments that have been incorporated as appropriate.
During the past 3 fiscal years, Labor certified about two-thirds of TAA petitions investigated and generally processed petitions in a timely manner. Labor certified 4,700, or 66 percent, of the 7,100 petitions it investigated from fiscal years 2004 to 2006. Labor took on average 32 days to make a certification decision and processed 77 percent of petitions within the required 40-day time frame. According to Labor officials, they were not always able to meet the 40-day time frame because they sometimes did not receive information from company officials in a timely manner. In fiscal year 2006, 44 percent of the petitions that Labor denied were because workers were not involved in the production of an article. An industry certification approach based on three petitions certified in 180 days would likely increase the number of workers eligible for TAA but presents some design and implementation challenges. However, the extent of the increase in eligible workers depends on the additional criteria, if any, industries would have to meet to be certified. From 2003 to 2005, 222 industries had three petitions certified within 180 days. Based on our analysis of 69 of these industries for which we could obtain complete data, the number of eligible workers in these industries could more than double if no additional criteria were used, but would expand by less than 10 percent if industries had to meet more restrictive criteria, such as demonstrated increases in the import share of the domestic market over a 3-year period. Designing the criteria presents challenges due to the possibility of making workers who lose their jobs for reasons other than trade eligible for TAA. Implementation challenges include notifying all workers of their potential eligibility, verifying their eligibility, and linking them with services. Using trade remedies to certify industries could also expand eligibility for workers in some industries, but challenges exist. While basing industry certification on trade remedies could expand eligibility in areas where there have been no TAA petitions, some trade remedies are for products already covered by TAA petitions, such as iron and steel products. It is difficult to estimate the extent of the impact on worker eligibility because trade remedies are applied to specific products, and data on unemployment by product do not exist. This approach presents many of the same challenges as industry certification based on three petitions certified in 180 days. For example, workers who did not lose their jobs due to international trade could be made eligible for TAA because trade remedy investigations are not focused on employment. In addition, verifying workers' eligibility may be particularly challenging due to the narrow product classifications of some trade remedy products, such as carbazole violet pigment 23. In companies that make multiple products, it may be difficult to identify which specific workers made the product subject to trade remedies.
GAO-07-919, Trade Adjustment Assistance: Industry Certification Would Likely Make More Workers Eligible, but Design and Implementation Challenges Exist
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Report to Congressional Requesters:
United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
June 2007:
Trade Adjustment Assistance:
Industry Certification Would Likely Make More Workers Eligible, but
Design and Implementation Challenges Exist:
GAO-07-919:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-07-919, a report to congressional requesters
Why GAO Did This Study:
Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) is the nation‘s primary program
providing job training and other assistance to manufacturing workers
who lose their jobs due to international trade. For workers to receive
TAA benefits, the Department of Labor (Labor) must certify that workers
in a particular layoff have lost their jobs due to trade. Congress is
considering allowing entire industries to be certified to facilitate
access to assistance.
GAO was asked to examine
(1) trends in the current certification process, (2) the extent to
which the proposed industry certification approach based on three
petitions certified in 180 days would increase eligibility and identify
potential challenges with this approach, and (3) the extent to which an
approach based on trade remedies would increase eligibility and
identify potential challenges. To address these questions, GAO analyzed
data on TAA petitions, mass layoffs, trade, production, and trade
remedies. GAO also interviewed Labor and ITC officials.
GAO is not making recommendations at this time.
Labor reviewed the report and did not provide comments. The ITC
provided technical comments that have been incorporated as appropriate.
What GAO Found:
During the past 3 fiscal years, Labor certified about two-thirds of TAA
petitions investigated and generally processed petitions in a timely
manner. Labor certified 4,700, or 66 percent, of the 7,100 petitions it
investigated from fiscal years 2004 to 2006. Labor took on average 32
days to make a certification decision and processed 77 percent of
petitions within the required 40-day time frame. According to Labor
officials, they were not always able to meet the 40-day time frame
because they sometimes did not receive information from company
officials in a timely manner. In fiscal year 2006, 44 percent of the
petitions that Labor denied were because workers were not involved in
the production of an article.
An industry certification approach based on three petitions certified
in 180 days would likely increase the number of workers eligible for
TAA but presents some design and implementation challenges. However,
the extent of the increase in eligible workers depends on the
additional criteria, if any, industries would have to meet to be
certified. From 2003 to 2005, 222 industries had three petitions
certified within 180 days. Based on our analysis of 69 of these
industries for which we could obtain complete data, the number of
eligible workers in these industries could more than double if no
additional criteria were used, but would expand by less than 10 percent
if industries had to meet more restrictive criteria, such as
demonstrated increases in the import share of the domestic market over
a 3-year period. Designing the criteria presents challenges due to the
possibility of making workers who lose their jobs for reasons other
than trade eligible for TAA. Implementation challenges include
notifying all workers of their potential eligibility, verifying their
eligibility, and linking them with services.
Using trade remedies to certify industries could also expand
eligibility for workers in some industries, but challenges exist. While
basing industry certification on trade remedies could expand
eligibility in areas where there have been no TAA petitions, some trade
remedies are for products already covered by TAA petitions, such as
iron and steel products. It is difficult to estimate the extent of the
impact on worker eligibility because trade remedies are applied to
specific products, and data on unemployment by product do not exist.
This approach presents many of the same challenges as industry
certification based on three petitions certified in 180 days. For
example, workers who did not lose their jobs due to international trade
could be made eligible for TAA because trade remedy investigations are
not focused on employment. In addition, verifying workers‘ eligibility
may be particularly challenging due to the narrow product
classifications of some trade remedy products, such as carbazole violet
pigment 23. In companies that make multiple products, it may be
difficult to identify which specific workers made the product subject
to trade remedies.
[Hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-919].
To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on
the link above. For more information, contact Sigurd Nilsen at (202)
512-7215 or nilsens@gao.gov.
[End of section]
Contents:
Letter:
Results in Brief:
Background:
Labor Certified Two-Thirds of Petitions Investigated and Generally
Processed Petitions in a Timely Manner:
Industry Certification Based on Multiple Certifications Would Likely
Increase Eligible Population, but Some Implementation Challenges Exist:
Certifying Industries Subject to Trade Remedies Could Increase Eligible
Population, but Extent Is Uncertain and Potential Challenges Exist:
Agency Comments:
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, & Methodology:
Appendix II: Industries in Which Petitions Were Denied, Fiscal Year
2006:
Appendix III: Industries with Three Petitions Certified in 180 Days,
2003 to 2005:
Appendix IV: Additional Analysis of the 69 Industries:
Appendix V: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments:
Related GAO Products:
Tables:
Table 1: TAA Petition Filings and Investigation Decisions, Fiscal Years
2004 to 2006:
Table 2: Industries in Which Petitions Were Denied Because Workers Did
Not Produce an Article, Fiscal Year 2006:
Table 3: Industries in Which Petitions Were Denied Due to No Increase
in Imports or Production Shift Abroad, Fiscal Year 2006:
Table 4: Industries in Which Petitions Were Denied Due to No Employment
Decline, Fiscal Year 2006:
Table 5: Industries with Trade and Unemployment Data Available to
Analyze:
Table 6: Industries That Could Not Be Analyzed Due to Data Limitations:
Table 7: Estimated Increase in the Number of Eligible Workers in 69
Industries under Various Criteria, 2003 to 2005:
Figures:
Figure 1: Percent of Petitions Processed within Various Time Frames,
Fiscal Years 2004 to 2006:
Figure 2: Reasons Petitions Filed in Fiscal Year 2006 Were Denied:
Figure 3: Appeals of Petitions Filed during Fiscal Years 2004 to 2006:
Figure 4: Estimated Increase in the Number of Eligible Workers in 69
Industries, 2003 to 2005:
Abbreviations:
ATAA: Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance:
HCTC: Health Coverage Tax Credit:
ITC: International Trade Commission:
MLS: Mass Layoff Statistics:
TAA: Trade Adjustment Assistance:
SIC: Standard Industrial Classification:
UI: Unemployment Insurance:
WARN: Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification:
United States Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
June 29, 2007:
The Honorable Charles B. Rangel:
Chairman:
Committee on Ways and Means:
House of Representatives:
The Honorable Adam Smith:
House of Representatives:
Since 2000, more than 3 million jobs have been lost in the
manufacturing sector due to a range of factors, including international
trade. While international trade has affected a broad range of
industries both positively and negatively, certain industries have been
particularly hard hit, such as textiles, paper products, and automotive
parts.
A key federal program serving workers in the manufacturing sector who
are adversely affected by trade is the Trade Adjustment Assistance
(TAA) program. TAA, administered by the Department of Labor (Labor),
provided about $966 million in fiscal year 2006 in income support, job
training, and other benefits to assist these workers.[Footnote 1] In
order for workers to receive TAA benefits and services, Labor must
certify that workers in a particular layoff have been adversely
affected by trade. Over the past 3 fiscal years, about 400,000 workers
were certified for TAA, with approximately 123,000 workers certified in
the most recent year, 2006. The certification process begins when a
petition is filed with Labor on behalf of a group of laid-off workers.
Labor then has 40 days to review the petition and determine whether it
meets the criteria for certification, including determining whether the
layoff occurred because of an increase in imports or a shift in
production to another country. To make such a determination, Labor
surveys the firm undergoing the layoff and its customers and also
reviews data on the firm's industry. Once a petition is certified,
state and, in some cases, local workforce agencies notify workers of
their eligibility for TAA and help them to enroll in the program's
benefits and services.
While current legislation governing TAA gives the President and the
U.S. Trade Representative authority to request an industrywide
investigation and recommend that workers in an industry injured by
trade be provided assistance through TAA, this provision has never been
used, according to Labor officials. Congress is now considering
approaches that would facilitate certifying entire industries for TAA.
One approach being considered would make an industry eligible to be
investigated for possible certification when Labor certifies three
petitions from that industry within 180 days. An investigation would
determine whether the entire industry has been affected by trade and,
therefore, whether workers in any future layoff in that industry should
automatically be eligible for TAA. Another approach would require
certification of an industry with a trade remedy. Trade remedies
include, for example, a duty imposed on an imported product because the
Department of Commerce found the product had been subsidized and the
International Trade Commission (ITC) found that a domestic industry had
been injured by the unfair trade practices. To better understand the
potential effects of certifying entire industries for TAA, you asked us
to assess the implications of having industrywide certification.
Specifically, we examined (1) recent trends in Labor's certification of
TAA petitions, (2) the extent to which industry certification based on
three petitions certified within 180 days would increase the number of
workers eligible for TAA and potential challenges associated with such
an approach, and (3) the extent to which certification of industries
subject to trade remedies would increase the number of eligible workers
and potential challenges.
To address these questions, we analyzed Labor's data on TAA petitions,
the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Mass Layoff Statistics data, and the
Census Bureau's data on trade and production, as well as the
International Trade Commission's data on trade remedies. In examining
recent trends in Labor's certification of TAA petitions, we analyzed
data from fiscal years 2004 to 2006. However, in estimating the extent
to which industry certification would increase the number of eligible
workers, we analyzed data from calendar years 2003 to 2005 because it
was the most recent time period that trade, production, and Mass
Layoffs Statistics data were all available. Due to data limitations,
our analysis of the impact of an industry certification approach based
on three petitions certified in 180 days is limited to a subset of
industries for which we were able to obtain complete information.
Because we are unable to conclude whether the industries we analyzed
are representative of industries that might qualify for an industrywide
investigation, our results are not generalizable to all industries.
Furthermore, they are not predictive of future levels of eligible
workers. We also interviewed officials at Labor and the International
Trade Commission. We conducted our work from January to June 2007 in
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. See
appendix I for a detailed discussion of our scope and methodology.
Results in Brief:
During the past 3 fiscal years, Labor certified two-thirds of petitions
it investigated and generally processed petitions in a timely manner.
Labor certified 4,700, or 66 percent, of the 7,100 petitions it
investigated from fiscal years 2004 to 2006. Over the past 3 fiscal
years, the number of petitions certified has declined 17 percent, from
nearly 1,700 in fiscal year 2004 to 1,400 in fiscal year 2006,
paralleling a decline in the number of petitions filed. Labor took on
average 32 days to make a certification decision and processed 77
percent of petitions within the required 40-day time frame. Labor most
often took only an additional day to process the remaining petitions,
and 95 percent were completed within 60 days. According to Labor
officials, when they did not meet the 40-day time frame, it was often
because they did not receive necessary information in a timely manner
from company officials. Labor most commonly denied petitions because
workers were not involved in the production of articles, a basic
requirement of the TAA program. Of the 800 petitions denied in fiscal
year 2006, 44 percent were denied for this reason. Of the approximately
2,600 petitions initially denied from fiscal years 2004 to 2006, 16
percent were appealed, and the decisions were reversed in about one-
third of these cases.
An industry certification approach based on three petitions certified
within any 180-day period would likely increase the number of workers
eligible for TAA but also presents some design and implementation
challenges. Between 2003 and 2005, 222 industries--out of 515
industries with at least one TAA certification--met the criteria of
three petitions certified in 180 days and would have been considered
for industry certification. These industries included over 70 percent
of workers estimated to be certified for TAA between 2003 to 2005.
However, it is unlikely that Labor would have certified all of the 222
industries because some may not have shown industrywide evidence of
being adversely affected by trade. The number of industries receiving
certification and the number of additional workers eligible for TAA
would depend on the additional eligibility criteria industries would
have to meet. For example, among the industries for which we could
obtain complete data, we found that the number of workers eligible for
TAA could more than double if no additional criteria were used, but
would expand by less than 10 percent if industries had to meet more
restrictive criteria, such as demonstrated increases in the import
share of the domestic market over a 3-year period. This industry
certification approach presents some potential design and
implementation challenges. Using an industrywide approach raises the
possibility that workers will be certified who have not been affected
by trade. For example, workers in a certified industry could be laid
off for reasons other than trade, such as the work being relocated
domestically. In addition, industry certification presents some
potential implementation challenges, including finding ways to notify
all potentially eligible workers in certified industries, verify their
eligibility, and initiate the delivery of services.
Using trade remedies to certify industries could expand eligibility for
workers in some industries, but the extent is uncertain and some
challenges exist with using trade remedies to identify trade-related
job losses. Such an industry certification approach could expand
eligibility for TAA because some trade remedies may cover areas in
which there have been few or no certified TAA petitions. However, some
trade remedies are for products that may already be covered by TAA
petitions, so the number of workers eligible for TAA may not increase
substantially in these areas. For example, more than half of two common
types of trade remedies are for iron and steel products, industries
that have hundreds of certified TAA petitions. Despite this overlap,
eligibility could expand to some unemployed workers whose firm did not
submit a petition or did not qualify under current TAA certification
criteria. It is difficult to estimate the extent of the impact on
worker eligibility for TAA through such an approach because trade
remedies are applied to specific products, and data on unemployment by
product do not exist. In addition, this approach presents some of the
same challenges as an industry certification approach based on three
petitions certified in 180 days. For example, workers who did not lose
their jobs due to international trade could be made eligible for TAA in
part because trade remedy investigations are not focused on employment.
In addition, verifying workers' eligibility could be particularly
challenging because of the narrow product classifications of some trade
remedy products. For example, one product subject to a trade remedy is
a particular dye color--carbazole violet pigment 23--and firms that
produce this pigment may also produce other pigments not covered under
trade remedies. In firms that make multiple products, it may be
difficult to identify which specific workers are involved in making the
product subject to trade remedies.
The Department of Labor reviewed our report and did not provide
comments. The International Trade Commission provided us with technical
comments, which we incorporated into the report as appropriate.
Background:
The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program is the federal
government's primary program specifically designed to provide
assistance to workers who lose their jobs as a result of international
trade. In addition, to assist U.S. domestic industries injured by
unfair trading practices or increases in certain fairly traded imports,
U.S. law permits the use of trade remedies, such as duties on imported
products.
TAA Certification Process and Eligibility Requirements:
Currently, Labor certifies workers for TAA on a layoff-by-layoff basis.
The process for enrolling trade-affected workers in the TAA program
begins when a petition for TAA assistance is filed with Labor on behalf
of a group of workers. Petitions may be filed by the employer
experiencing the layoff, a group of at least three affected workers, a
union, or the state or local workforce agency. Labor investigates
whether a petition meets the requirements for TAA certification and is
required to either certify or deny the petition within 40 days of
receiving it.
The TAA statute lays out certain basic requirements for petitions to be
certified, including that a significant proportion of workers employed
by a company be laid off or threatened with layoff and that affected
workers must have been employed by a company that produces articles. In
addition to meeting these basic requirements, a petition must
demonstrate that the layoff is related to international trade in one of
several ways:
* Increased imports--imports of articles that are similar to or
directly compete with articles produced by the firm have increased, the
sales or production of the firm has decreased, and the increase in
imports has contributed importantly to the decline in sales or
production and the layoff or threatened layoff of workers.
* Shift of production--the firm has shifted production of an article to
another country, and either:
- the country is party to a free trade agreement with the United
States; or:
- the country is a beneficiary under the Andean Trade Preference Act,
the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or the Caribbean Basin Economic
Recovery Act; or:
- there has been or is likely to be an increase in imports of articles
that are similar to or directly compete with articles produced by the
firm.
* Affected secondarily by trade--workers must meet one of two criteria:
* Upstream secondary workers--affected firm produces and supplies
component parts to another firm that has experienced TAA-certified
layoffs; parts supplied to the certified firm constituted at least 20
percent of the affected firm's production, or a loss of business with
the certified firm contributed importantly to the layoffs at the
affected firm.
* Downstream secondary workers--affected firm performs final assembly
or finishing work for another firm that has experienced TAA-certified
layoffs as a result of an increase in imports from or a shift in
production to Canada or Mexico, and a loss of business with the
certified firm contributed importantly to the layoffs at the affected
firm.
Labor investigates whether each petition meets the requirements for TAA
certification by taking steps such as surveying officials at the
petitioning firm, surveying its customers, and examining aggregate
industry data. In the surveys, Labor obtains information on whether the
firm is now importing products that it had once produced or whether its
customers are now importing products that the firm produced. They also
obtain information on whether the firm has moved or is planning to move
work overseas and, to identify a secondary impact, whether the layoff
occurred due to loss of business with a firm that was certified for
TAA. When Labor has certified a petition, it notifies the relevant
state, which has responsibility for contacting the workers covered by
the petition, informing them of the benefits available to them, and
telling them when and where to apply for benefits.
If Labor denies a petition for TAA assistance, the workers who would
have been certified under the petition have two options for challenging
this denial. They may request an administrative reconsideration of the
decision by Labor. To take this step, workers must provide reasons why
the denial is erroneous based on either a mistake or misinterpretation
of the facts or the law itself and must mail their request to Labor
within 30 days of the announcement of the denial. Workers may also
appeal to the U.S. Court of International Trade for judicial review of
Labor's denial. Workers must appeal a denial to the Court within 60
days of either the initial denial or a denial following administrative
reconsideration by Labor.
Trade Adjustment Assistance Benefits:
Under TAA, workers certified as eligible for the program may have
access to a variety of benefits:
* Training for up to 130 weeks, including 104 weeks of vocational
training and 26 weeks of remedial training, such as English as a second
language or adult basic education.
* Extended income support for up to 104 weeks beyond the 26 weeks of
unemployment insurance (UI) benefits available in most states.
* Job search and relocation benefits fund participants' job searches in
a different geographical area and relocation to a different area to
take a job.
* A wage insurance benefit, known as the Alternative Trade Adjustment
Assistance (ATAA) program, pays older workers who find a new job at a
lower wage 50 percent of the difference between their new and old wages
up to a maximum of $10,000 over 2 years.
* A health coverage benefit, known as the Health Coverage Tax Credit
(HCTC), helps workers pay for health care insurance through a tax
credit that covers 65 percent of their health insurance premiums.
In addition, case managers provide vocational assessments and
counseling to help workers enroll in the program and decide which
services or benefits are most appropriate. Local case managers also
refer workers to other programs, such as the Workforce Investment Act,
for additional services.
Trade Remedies:
The United States and many of its trading partners have used laws known
as "trade remedies" to mitigate the adverse impact of certain trade
practices on domestic industries and workers, notably dumping--when a
foreign firm sells a product in the United States at a price below fair
market value--and foreign government subsidies that lower producers'
costs or increase their revenues. In both situations, U.S. law provides
that if dumped or subsidized imports injure a domestic industry, a duty
intended to counter these advantages be imposed on imports. Such duties
are known as anti-dumping and countervailing duties. In addition, in
the event of an increase in imports of a certain product, safeguards,
such as quotas or tariffs, may be applied to these products to provide
an opportunity for domestic industries to adjust to increasing imports.
As of March 30, 2007, there were 280 antidumping and countervailing
duty orders, and according to officials at the ITC, there were no
safeguard measures in place.
The process for imposing a trade remedy begins when a domestic producer
files for relief or when the Department of Commerce (Commerce)
initiates the process, followed by two separate investigations: one by
Commerce to determine if dumping or subsidies are occurring, and the
other by the ITC to determine whether a domestic U.S. industry is
materially injured by such unfairly traded imports or, in the case of
safeguards, experiences serious injury from a rise in imports. As a
result of an affirmative determination by both Commerce and the ITC in
an antidumping or countervailing duty investigation, a duty is imposed
on the imported good that can reflect the difference in the price in
the foreign market and the price in the U.S. market, known as the
"dumping margin," or the amount of the foreign subsidy. In the case of
an affirmative determination in a safeguard investigation, the ITC
provides the President with one or more recommendations for remedying
the situation, such as a tariff or quota on an imported product. The
President may implement or modify the recommendations, or take no
action due to U.S. economic or national security interests.
Labor Certified Two-Thirds of Petitions Investigated and Generally
Processed Petitions in a Timely Manner:
Labor certified two-thirds of petitions that it investigated over the
past 3 fiscal years, certifying nearly 4,700 petitions, covering an
estimated 400,000 workers (see table 1).[Footnote 2] Over the past 3
fiscal years, the number of petitions certified has declined 17
percent, from nearly 1,700 in fiscal year 2004 to 1,400 in fiscal year
2006. This decline parallels a decline in the number of petitions
filed.
Table 1: TAA Petition Filings and Investigation Decisions, Fiscal Years
2004 to 2006:
Fiscal year: 2004;
Number of petitions filed: 2,992;
Number investigated[A]: 2,559;
Number certified: 1,689;
Number denied: 870;
Percentage certified: 66.
Fiscal year: 2005;
Number of petitions filed: 2,638;
Number investigated[A]: 2,358;
Number certified: 1,589;
Number denied: 769;
Percentage certified: 67.
Fiscal year: 2006;
Number of petitions filed: 2,456;
Number investigated[A]: 2,232;
Number certified: 1,407;
Number denied: 825;
Percentage certified: 63.
Fiscal year: Total;
Number of petitions filed: 8,086;
Number investigated[A]: 7,149;
Number certified: 4,685 [B];
Number denied: 2,464 [C];
Percentage certified: 66.
Source: GAO analysis of Department of Labor TAA petitions data.
[A] About 900 petitions were terminated prior to an investigation by
the Department of Labor during fiscal years 2004 to 2006, accounting
for 12 percent of petitions filed. Petitions may be terminated for
several reasons, including that a petition was recently denied for the
layoff or a company official was not available to provide necessary
information.
[B] The numbers on petitions certified include 12 petitions that were
partially certified.
[C] Labor initially denied 2,599 petitions, but 135 were reversed upon
appeal.
[End of table]
Labor has generally processed petitions in a timely manner over the
past 3 fiscal years. Labor's average processing time has remained
relatively steady, taking on average 32 days to conduct an
investigation and determine whether to certify or deny the petition.
Labor met the requirement to process petitions within 40 days for 77
percent of petitions it investigated during fiscal years 2004 to 2006
(see fig. 1). Labor most often took only an additional day to process
the remaining petitions, and 95 percent were completed within 60 days.
Labor officials said that they are not always able to meet the 40-day
time frame because they sometimes do not receive necessary information
in a timely manner from company officials.
Figure 1: Percent of Petitions Processed within Various Time Frames,
Fiscal Years 2004 to 2006:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO analysis of Department of Labor petitions data.
[End of figure]
In fiscal year 2006, the most common reason petitions were denied was
that workers were not involved in producing an article, a basic
requirement of the TAA program.[Footnote 3] Of the more than 800
petitions filed in fiscal year 2006 that were denied, 359 (44 percent)
were denied for this reason (see fig. 2). Of those petitions denied
because workers did not produce articles, most came from two
industries, business services, such as computer programming, and
airport-related services, such as aircraft maintenance (see app. II for
the complete list of industries that had petitions denied by reason for
the denial).
Figure 2: Reasons Petitions Filed in Fiscal Year 2006 Were Denied:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO analysis of Department of Labor data on petitions filed
during fiscal year 2006.
Note: Other reasons that petitions were denied were that the company
did not experience a decline in sales or production, the predominant
cause of the layoff was unrelated to imports or a shift in production
abroad, or there was no secondary impact. The figure does not include
two petitions that were missing information on reasons they were
denied.
[End of figure]
During the past 3 fiscal years, workers appealed decisions in 16
percent of the approximately 2,600 petitions that Labor initially
denied, with the vast majority appealed to Labor. Labor's decisions
were reversed in one-third of the appeals (see fig. 3). Labor officials
told us that appeals are often reversed because Labor receives new
information from petitioners or company officials, as part of the
appeals process, that justifies certifying the petition.
Figure 3: Appeals of Petitions Filed during Fiscal Years 2004 to 2006:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO analysis of Department of Labor petitions data and U.S.
Court of International Trade cases.
Note: Some appeals were still being processed at the time this report
was issued.
[End of figure]
Although few denied petitions are appealed to the U.S. Court of
International Trade--42 in the last 3 fiscal years--many of the recent
appeals concern the issue of whether workers were involved in the
production of articles. In fiscal years 2005 and 2006, Labor's original
denial was reversed in 13 cases appealed to the Court, and most of
these cases addressed the issue of whether workers produced articles.
Some of these cases concerned workers who produced software, which
Labor had regarded as a service when the software was not contained in
a physical medium, such as a CD-ROM. In 2006, Labor revised its policy,
stating that software could be considered an intangible article because
it would have been considered an article if it had been produced in a
form such as a CD-ROM. Following this decision, a Labor official
reported that Labor had certified 12 of 21 petitions investigated in
the software and computer-related services industries.
Industry Certification Based on Multiple Certifications Would Likely
Increase Eligible Population, but Some Implementation Challenges Exist:
An industry certification approach based on three petitions certified
within 180 days would likely increase the number of workers eligible
for TAA, but presents some design and implementation challenges. For
example, among the industries for which we could obtain complete data,
we found that the number of additional workers eligible for TAA in
those industries could more than double if no additional criteria were
used or expand by less than 10 percent with relatively restrictive
criteria. However, such an approach presents some design and
implementation challenges. For example, designing the specific criteria
an industry must meet to be certified could be challenging due to the
possibility of making workers who lose their jobs for reasons other
than trade eligible for TAA. In addition, it may be challenging to
ensure that all workers in certified industries are notified of their
potential eligibility for TAA, verify workers' eligibility, and
initiate the delivery of services to workers.
Extent of Increase in Eligible Workers Depends on How Additional
Criteria Are Set:
From 2003 to 2005, 222 industries had three petitions certified within
180 days and therefore would have triggered an investigation to
determine whether an entire industry should be certified, if such an
approach had been in place at that time.[Footnote 4] These industries
represented over 40 percent of the 515 industries with at least one TAA
certification in those 3 years and included 71 percent of the workers
estimated to be certified for TAA from 2003 to 2005.[Footnote 5] The
222 are a diverse set of industries, including textiles, apparel,
wooden household furniture, motor vehicle parts and accessories,
certain plastic products, and printed circuit boards (see app. III for
a list of the 222 industries).[Footnote 6]
The proposals for this approach include a requirement that an
investigation be initiated after an industry meets the three
certifications in 180 days criterion. This investigation would use some
additional criteria to determine whether these certifications represent
a broad industrywide phenomenon or just a collection of firms
experiencing similar pressures from foreign trade. As a result, not all
222 industries would likely be certified industrywide. The additional
criteria that an industry would have to meet to be certified have not
yet been specified, but they could include factors such as the extent
to which an industry has been impacted by imports, changes in
production levels in the industry, or changes in employment
levels.[Footnote 7]
The number of workers that would become eligible for TAA through an
industry certification approach depends on what additional criteria are
established. For example, we analyzed 69 industries in the
manufacturing sector for which we had comprehensive data on petitions,
unemployment, trade and production.[Footnote 8] These industries
represent about one-third of the 222 industries that would have been
eligible for industrywide certification (13 percent of industries with
petitions certified). If there were no additional criteria beyond the 3
petitions criteria and all of the 69 industries had been certified, the
number of workers eligible for TAA in these industries would have more
than doubled over the number that were actually certified under the
current layoff-by-layoff process. However, if certification were
limited to those industries that also had a 10 percent increase in the
import share of the domestic market over a 1-year period, we estimated
that the increase in eligible workers in these industries would have
been more modest, at roughly 70 percent. Under a slightly more
restrictive criterion--a 15 percent increase in the import share of the
domestic market--the increase in the number of eligible workers would
be less, an estimated 39 percent in those 69 industries (see fig.
4).[Footnote 9] If we were able to analyze the program as a whole the
magnitude of the increases would likely be different.[Footnote 10] This
would occur, in part, because the number of workers would increase only
in those industries that met the three petition criterion and would not
increase in those that did not meet the criterion. Thus the multiplier
we developed for the 69 industries could not be applied broadly to all
515 industries with certified petitions.[Footnote 11]
Figure 4: Estimated Increase in the Number of Eligible Workers in 69
Industries, 2003 to 2005:
[See PDF for image]
Source: GAO analysis of Department of Labor petitions data, Extended
Mass layoff Statistics data, and Census' trade and production data.
[End of figure]
More stringent criteria would result in a smaller increase in the
number of workers eligible for TAA. For example, if over a 3-year
period, an industry were required to have a 15 percent increase in the
import share of the domestic market in 1 year, as well as increases in
the import share during the 2 other years, we estimated that there
would have been a 9 percent increase in the number of workers eligible
for TAA in the 69 industries we analyzed.[Footnote 12] (For further
analysis of the 69 industries, see app. IV.)
Potential Design and Implementation Challenges Exist:
Although industry certification based on three petitions certified in
180 days is likely to increase the number of workers eligible for TAA,
it also presents several potential design and implementation
challenges.
Potential Design Challenges:
* Designing additional criteria for certification. Any industrywide
approach raises the possibility of certifying workers who were not
adversely affected by trade. Even in industries that are heavily
impacted by trade, workers could lose their jobs for other reasons,
such as the work being relocated domestically. For example, Labor
officials told us that they have denied petitions in the apparel
industry, which has been heavily impacted by trade, because the layoff
was not related to trade but occurred as a result of work being moved
to another domestic location. The risk of certifying non-trade affected
workers increases with more lenient criteria for industrywide
certification. On the other hand, narrow criteria may limit the
potential benefits of industry certification because few industries
would be certified. Furthermore, using the same thresholds for all
industries would not take into account industry-specific patterns in
trade and other economic factors. For example, the import share of the
domestic market may be volatile and change significantly from year to
year in some industries, while other industries may experience smaller
year-to-year growth in imports that could represent a significant
impact over time.
* Determining appropriate duration of certification. Determining the
length of time that an industry would be certified may also present
challenges. If the length of time is too short, Labor may bear the
administrative burden of frequently re-investigating industries that
continue to experience trade-related layoffs after the initial
certification expires. In addition, a shorter duration may make it
difficult for workers to know whether their industry is certified at
the particular time that they are laid off. As a result, workers may
not know whether they need to file a regular TAA petition to become
certified. However, if the time period is too long, workers may
continue to be eligible for TAA even if conditions change and an
industry is no longer adversely affected by trade.
Potential Implementation Challenges:
* Defining the industries. How the industries are defined would
significantly affect the number of workers who would become eligible
for TAA through an industry certification approach. Our analysis
defined industries according to industry classification systems used by
government statistical agencies. However, some of these industry
categories are broad and may encompass products that are not adversely
affected by trade. On the other hand, certain products within an
industry that, as a whole, does not show evidence of a trade impact may
have been adversely affected by trade. For example, the men's footwear
industry might not be classified as adversely trade-impacted because it
did not have a 15 percent increase in the import share of the domestic
market over a 1-year period, but it is possible that certain types of
men's footwear, such as casual shoes or boots, could be adversely
impacted by trade. More narrow definitions would reduce the possibility
of certifying workers who are not adversely affected by trade, but
doing so would cover fewer workers and could increase the
administrative burden for Labor because it might have to investigate
more industries.
* Notifying workers and initiating the delivery of services. Notifying
workers of their eligibility for TAA has been a challenge and would
continue to be under industry certification. Under the current
certification process, workers are linked to services through the
petition process. The specific firm is identified on the petition
application, and state and local workforce agencies work through the
firm to reach workers in layoffs of all sizes. However, getting lists
of employees affected by layoffs and contacting them is sometimes a
challenge for states and would remain so under industry
certification.[Footnote 13] For industry certification, however, there
are no such procedures in place to notify all potentially eligible
workers in certified industries. For large layoffs in a certified
industry, state and local workforce agencies could potentially use some
of the processes they currently have in place to connect with workers,
but it is not apparent that there would be a built-in link to workers
in small layoffs. In large layoffs, firms with 100 or more employees
are generally required to provide 60-days advance notice to state and
local workforce agencies, who then work with the firm to provide rapid
response services and inform workers about the various services and
benefits available, including TAA.[Footnote 14] However, in smaller
layoffs in certified industries, or when firms do not provide advance
notice, workforce agencies would not know that the layoff has occurred
and therefore would not be able to notify the workers of their
eligibility for TAA.[Footnote 15]
* Verifying worker eligibility. Verifying that a worker was laid off
from a job in a certified industry to ensure that only workers eligible
for TAA receive TAA benefits may be more of a challenge under industry
certification than under the current system. For example, it may be
difficult to identify the specific workers who made a product in the
certified industry if their employer also makes products that are not
covered under industry-wide certification. In order to realize one of
the potential benefits of industry certification--reduced processing
time--this verification process would need to take less time than it
takes workers to become certified through the layoff-by-layoff
certification process. As we noted, Labor takes on average 32 days to
complete its investigation of a petition, but it generally takes
additional time for individuals to be notified of their eligibility. In
addition, determining which entity would conduct this verification may
also present challenges. A centralized process conducted by Labor would
likely be unwieldy, while verification by state or local workforce
agencies could take less time but ensuring consistency across the
nation might prove challenging.
Certifying Industries Subject to Trade Remedies Could Increase Eligible
Population, but Extent Is Uncertain and Potential Challenges Exist:
Using trade remedies to certify industries for TAA could expand
eligibility for workers in some industries, but the extent is uncertain
and there are challenges associated with using trade remedies to
identify trade-related job losses. Such an approach could expand
eligibility because some trade remedies may cover areas in which there
have been few or no certified TAA petitions. However, some trade
remedies are for products that may already be covered by TAA petitions,
so the number of workers eligible for TAA may not increase
substantially in these areas. It is difficult to estimate the impact of
this approach on eligibility because trade remedies are applied to
specific products, and data on unemployment by product do not exist. In
addition, this approach presents some of the same challenges as with an
industry certification approach based on three petitions certified in
180 days. For example, workers who did not lose their jobs due to
international trade could be made eligible for TAA in part because
trade remedy investigations are focused on injury to an industry as a
whole and not principally on employment impacts.
Extent of Increase in Worker Eligibility Difficult to Estimate Due to
Overlap with TAA Petitions and Lack of Data:
Using trade remedies for industrywide certification could result in
expanded worker eligibility for TAA in a number of industries. For
example, 280 antidumping and countervailing duty orders covering over
100 products were in place, as of March 30, 2007.[Footnote 16] The
number of workers eligible for TAA would increase under this approach
in areas in which there have been few or no TAA petitions. For example,
even though the ITC found that the domestic industry producing certain
kinds of orange juice had been materially injured by imports, there do
not appear to have been any certified TAA petitions for workers
producing orange juice.
However, the number of workers eligible for TAA may not increase
substantially in certain areas in part because of overlap between trade
remedies and TAA petitions. For example, over half of outstanding
antidumping and countervailing duty orders are for iron and steel
products, which have also received hundreds of petitions under TAA.
However, even where the products covered by trade remedies and TAA
overlap, eligibility could expand to some unemployed workers whose
firms did not submit a petition or did not qualify under current TAA
certification criteria. In addition, industries with trade remedies may
not necessarily have experienced many trade-related job losses because
the ITC investigates whether an industry as a whole has been injured
and does not specifically focus on employment, according to an ITC
official. Whereas Labor investigates whether increased imports
contributed importantly to a layoff or threat of layoff, the ITC looks
at a wide range of economic factors including but not limited to
employment, such as sales, market share, productivity, and
profitability.
It is difficult to estimate the extent that industry certification
based on trade remedies would increase the number of workers eligible
for TAA because trade remedies are imposed on specific products coming
from specific U.S. trade partners, and data are not available on job
losses at such a detailed level. The product classifications for a
given trade remedy can be very narrow, such as "carbazole violet
pigment 23" or "welded ASTM A-312 stainless steel pipe." Estimating the
increase in the number of eligible workers would require unemployment
information categorized by individual product, and these data do not
exist.
Potential Challenges Exist with Using Trade Remedies to Identify Trade-
Related Job Losses:
An approach using trade remedies presents some of the same challenges
as an industry certification approach based on three petitions
certified in 180 days. Workers who did not lose their jobs due to trade
could possibly be made eligible for TAA under a trade remedy approach
for several reasons. First, trade remedies are not necessarily an
indicator of recent trade-related job losses, in part because the ITC's
process is not employment-focused and even recent injury determinations
can be based on several prior years of data. For example, officials at
Labor told us that trade remedies have not been useful in their
investigations of TAA petitions because they are based on several years
worth of information and can be unrelated to current industry and
employment conditions. Furthermore, trade remedies are intended to
mitigate the trade-related factors that caused the injury to the
industry, so employment conditions in an industry could improve after
the trade remedy is in place. In addition, as with the other
industrywide approach, notifying workers in industries with trade
remedies and connecting them with services would also be a challenge,
as well as verifying that they were laid off from a certified industry.
The verification process could be particularly challenging with an
approach based on trade remedies because of the narrow product
classifications of some trade remedy products. In firms that make
multiple products, for example, more than one type of stainless steel
pipe, it may be difficult to identify which specific workers worked on
the products subject to trade remedies.
An ITC official also expressed concern that seeking a waiver to share
information collected during injury investigations with Labor could
hamper ITC's ability to collect confidential business information from
firms. By statute, the ITC cannot share with other government agencies
business proprietary information submitted to it in a trade remedies
investigation without a waiver from the submitter.
Agency Comments:
We provided a draft of this report to the Department of Labor and the
International Trade Commission. The Department of Labor did not
comment. The International Trade Commission provided technical
comments, which we incorporated into the report as appropriate.
As arranged with your offices, unless you publicly announce the
contents of this report earlier, we plan no further distribution of the
report until 30 days from its issue date. At that time, we will send
copies of this report to the Secretary of Labor, the Chairman of the
International Trade Commission, relevant congressional committees, and
other interested parties. Copies will be made available to others upon
request. The report will also be available at no charge on GAO's Web
site at http://www.gao.gov.
Please contact me on (202) 512-7215 if you or your staff have any
questions about this report. Contact points for our Offices of
Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last
page of the report. Key contributors to this report are listed in
appendix V.
Signed by:
Sigurd R. Nilsen:
Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues:
[End of section]
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, & Methodology:
Our objectives were to determine: (1) trends in Labor's certification
of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) petitions, (2) the extent to which
industry certification based on three petitions certified within 180
days would increase the number of workers eligible for TAA, and (3) the
extent to which certification of industries subject to trade remedies
would increase the number of eligible workers. We also identified
potential challenges with an industry certification approach. To
address these questions, we analyzed Labor's data on TAA petitions, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics' Mass Layoff Statistics data, the Census
Bureau's data on trade and production, and the International Trade
Commission's data on trade remedies. In examining recent trends in
Labor's certification of TAA petitions, we analyzed Labor's petitions
data from fiscal years 2004 to 2006. However, in estimating the extent
to which industry certification would increase the number of eligible
workers, we analyzed data from calendar years 2003 to 2005 because that
was the most recent time period that trade, production, and Mass
Layoffs Statistics data were all available. In addition, we interviewed
officials at Labor and the International Trade Commission. We conducted
our work from January to June 2007 in accordance with generally
accepted government auditing standards.
Analysis of Labor's Petitions Data to Determine Certification Trends:
To determine trends in Labor's certification of TAA petitions, we
analyzed Labor's data for petitions filed from fiscal years 2004 to
2006. We assessed the reliability of key data by interviewing Labor
officials knowledgeable about the data, observing a demonstration of
the database, reviewing our prior assessments of the data, and
conducting edit checks. For a small number of petitions, we identified
logical inconsistencies or missing values in the data. We brought these
issues to the attention of Labor officials and worked with them to
correct the issues before conducting our analysis. Complete data on
reasons petitions were denied were only available for fiscal year 2006
because Labor only began to collect the data in 2005. As a result, we
reported information on reasons petitions were denied for only fiscal
year 2006.
In analyzing the number of petitions denied for TAA that were appealed
to Labor, we did not include in our analysis petitions that were
appealed only for a denial of Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance
(ATAA) wage insurance benefits. These petitions had been certified for
TAA after Labor's initial investigation but denied for wage insurance
benefits. In analyzing data on petitions that were appealed to the U.S.
Court of International Trade, we compared Labor's data to Court
documents. We determined that Labor's data on appeals to the Court were
not complete. As a result, we supplemented Labor's data with a review
of Court documents. At the time of our review, some petitions filed
during fiscal years 2004 to 2006 may still have been undergoing an
appeals process. Our analysis of petition decisions and appeals reflect
the outcomes of petitions at the time of our review.
Despite these limitations, we determined that Labor's petitions data
were sufficiently reliable for the purposes of this report, which was
to provide information on trends in Labor's certification of petitions.
Estimate of Extent to Which Industry Certification Based on Three
Petitions Certified in 180 Days Would Increase Worker Eligibility:
To estimate the extent to which industry certification based on three
petitions certified in 180 days would increase the number of workers
eligible for TAA, we first analyzed Labor's data on petitions certified
from calendar years 2003 to 2005 to identify which industries would
have had three petitions certified in 180 days in that time frame. We
then analyzed the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Extended Mass Layoff
Statistics survey to determine the number of workers who had been laid
off in those industries. We used this data as a proxy for the full
number of workers that would have been eligible for TAA had an
industrywide certification process been in place at the time. We also
collected Census trade data (imports and exports) by industry and
Census production data.
Of the 222 industries that had three petitions certified in 180 days
from 2003 to 2005, we were able to analyze 69 industries for which we
had comprehensive data. The available data sources used different
industry classification systems which we matched to each other. Labor's
petitions data classified industries according to the Standard
Industrial Classification System (SIC), while the Mass Layoff
Statistics and Census' trade and production data classified industries
based on variations of the North American Industry Classification
System (NAICS). In addition, our production data, from Census' Annual
Survey of Manufacturers, was limited to manufacturing industries. We
were able to find complete and well-defined matches (one-to-one NAICS
to SIC, or many-to-one NAICS to SIC) between the SIC-and NAICS-defined
industries for 69 of the 222 industries. We could not use data on
industries where a NAICS code corresponded to multiple SIC codes.
Because the 69 industries were not drawn from a random sample, the
results of our analysis are not necessarily representative of the
entire 222 industries.
In analyzing Labor's petitions data to identify the industries that
would have met the three petitions certified in 180 days criteria
during 2003 to 2005, we added an additional criterion to our analysis,
that the three petitions had to be from three different companies. When
companies lay off workers at multiple divisions or locations, they may
file separate petitions for each division or location. We added the
criterion to prevent an industry from becoming eligible to be
considered for certification when the three petitions were from the
same company.
In estimating the number of workers certified for TAA under the current
program, we used estimates from Labor's petitions data on the number of
workers affected by a layoff at the time that TAA petitions are filed
with the Department of Labor. At the time petitions are submitted,
companies may not know exactly how many workers will be affected. The
Department of Labor does not collect information on the number of
workers ultimately certified. We used these data to estimate the
increases in the number of workers who might be eligible for TAA with
the addition of an industry certification approach. They should not be
relied upon to support precise numbers on workers certified for TAA.
In estimating the increase in worker eligibility, we used data from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics' Mass Layoff Statistics program to estimate
the number of unemployed workers in industries that could have been
eligible for industrywide certification. The Mass Layoff Statistics
program collects reports on mass layoff actions that result in workers
being separated from their jobs. Monthly mass layoff numbers are from
establishments which have at least 50 initial claims for unemployment
insurance (UI) filed against them during a 5-week period. Extended mass
layoff numbers (issued quarterly) are from a subset of such
establishments--private-sector nonfarm employers who indicate that 50
or more workers were separated from their jobs for at least 31 days. We
used Extended Mass Layoffs to reduce the possibility of including
workers who were on temporary layoff and subject to recall.
Several limitations of the Mass Layoff Statistics data are relevant to
this analysis. First, Mass Layoff Statistics only include workers from
larger firms (workers with at least 50 employees). It also only
includes workers laid off through larger layoffs (layoffs of at least
50 employees). In 2003, there were 1,404,331 initial claims in the
Extended Mass Layoffs. In contrast, estimated unemployment due to
permanent layoffs in 2003 was 2,846,000, and total unemployment in 2003
was 8,774,000. Thus, workers involved in extended mass layoffs
represented 49 percent of permanent layoffs and 16 percent of total
unemployment in 2003.
Second, the Bureau of Labor Statistics suppressed MLS data on the
number of layoffs and the number of workers in the data they provided
to us, when the number of layoffs in an industry was less than three.
Approximately 40 percent of the data were suppressed. The results
reported here reflect the following imputation criterion. Suppressed
values were imputed with the mean number of laid-off workers per layoff
event within the broad industry group (by year), multiplied by 1.5. We
also conducted sensitivity analysis where we used more conservative
imputation criteria; results were not highly sensitive to the criterion
we selected.
In order to identify changes in trade related to individual industries,
we calculated the share of imports in the domestic market for each year
between 2002 and 2005. We defined the domestic market as U.S. domestic
production (measured by shipments) minus exports plus imports. We then
calculated the change in the import share of the domestic market from
2002 to 2003, 2003 to 2004, and 2004 to 2005. We examined the
distribution of these changes annually across industries and calculated
sample statistics. The mean change for the 69 industries was 6.1
percent in 2003, 13.01 percent in 2004, and 3.5 percent in 2005. The
standard deviation for these industries was 11.0 percent in 2003, 30.25
percent in 2004, and 13.74 percent in 2005. We also compared these
statistics to those of the entire population of 222 industries and
found that they were similar. Based on this analysis, we determined
that using criteria of annual changes of 10, 15, and 20 percent for the
share of imports in the domestic market was reasonable to illustrate
the impact of changing criteria on the number of potential workers
eligible for TAA. We also examined compound annual changes across all 4
years and found similar results.
Analysis of Trade Remedies:
To determine the extent to which eligibility for TAA would expand if
trade remedies were used to certify industries for TAA, we reviewed the
industries and products covered by antidumping and countervailing
duties. To the extent possible, we assessed areas of overlap between
TAA petitions and trade remedies. We also compared the eligibility
criteria for TAA with ITC's process for determining if an industry has
been injured.
Interviews with Labor and International Trade Commission:
To identify potential challenges with industry certification, we
interviewed officials at the Department of Labor and International
Trade Commission.
[End of section]
Appendix II: Industries in Which Petitions Were Denied, Fiscal Year
2006:
Table 2: Industries in Which Petitions Were Denied Because Workers Did
Not Produce an Article, Fiscal Year 2006:
SIC Code (2-digit): 73;
Industry: Business services;
Number of petitions denied: 119.
SIC Code (2-digit): 45;
Industry: Transportation by air;
Number of petitions denied: 108.
SIC Code (2-digit): 87;
Industry: Engineering, accounting, research, management, and related
services;
Number of petitions denied: 27.
SIC Code (2-digit): 47;
Industry: Transportation services;
Number of petitions denied: 16.
SIC Code (2-digit): 42;
Industry: Motor freight transportation and warehousing;
Number of petitions denied: 13.
SIC Code (2-digit): 89;
Industry: Miscellaneous services;
Number of petitions denied: 12.
SIC Code (2-digit): 76;
Industry: Miscellaneous repair services;
Number of petitions denied: 6.
SIC Code (2-digit): 36;
Industry: Electronic and other electrical equipment and components,
except computer;
Number of petitions denied: 5.
SIC Code (2-digit): 50;
Industry: Wholesale trade durable goods;
Number of petitions denied: 4.
SIC Code (2-digit): 60;
Industry: Depository institutions;
Number of petitions denied: 4.
SIC Code (2-digit): 62;
Industry: Security and commodity brokers, dealers, exchanges, and
services;
Number of petitions denied: 4.
SIC Code (2-digit): 64;
Industry: Insurance agents, brokers, and service;
Number of petitions denied: 4.
SIC Code (2-digit): 35;
Industry: Industrial and commercial machinery and computer equipment;
Number of petitions denied: 3.
SIC Code (2-digit): 37;
Industry: Transportation equipment;
Number of petitions denied: 3.
SIC Code (2-digit): 61;
Industry: Non-depository credit institutions;
Number of petitions denied: 3.
SIC Code (2-digit): 63;
Industry: Insurance carriers;
Number of petitions denied: 3.
SIC Code (2-digit): 22;
Industry: Textile mill products;
Number of petitions denied: 2.
SIC Code (2-digit): 23;
Industry: Apparel and other finished products made from fabrics and
similar materials;
Number of petitions denied: 2.
SIC Code (2-digit): 49;
Industry: Electric, gas, and sanitary services;
Number of petitions denied: 2.
SIC Code (2-digit): 58;
Industry: Eating and drinking places;
Number of petitions denied: 2.
SIC Code (2-digit): 72;
Industry: Personal services;
Number of petitions denied: 2.
SIC Code (2-digit): 8;
Industry: Forestry;
Number of petitions denied: 1.
SIC Code (2-digit): 15;
Industry: Building construction general contractors and operative
builders;
Number of petitions denied: 1.
SIC Code (2-digit): 24;
Industry: Lumber and wood products, except furniture;
Number of petitions denied: 1.
SIC Code (2-digit): 26;
Industry: Paper and allied products;
Number of petitions denied: 1.
SIC Code (2-digit): 27;
Industry: Printing, publishing, and allied industries;
Number of petitions denied: 1.
SIC Code (2-digit): 28;
Industry: Chemicals and allied products;
Number of petitions denied: 1.
SIC Code (2-digit): 30;
Industry: Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products;
Number of petitions denied: 1.
SIC Code (2-digit): 39;
Industry: Miscellaneous manufacturing industries;
Number of petitions denied: 1.
SIC Code (2-digit): 48;
Industry: Communications;
Number of petitions denied: 1.
SIC Code (2-digit): 51;
Industry: Whole trade non-durable goods;
Number of petitions denied: 1.
SIC Code (2-digit): 65;
Industry: Real estate;
Number of petitions denied: 1.
SIC Code (2-digit): 80;
Industry: Health services;
Number of petitions denied: 1.
SIC Code (2-digit): 82;
Industry: Educational services;
Number of petitions denied: 1.
Industry: SIC Code (2-digit)Industry: Total;
Number of petitions denied: SIC Code (2-digit)Number of petitions
denied: 357.
Source: Department of Labor petitions data.
Note: Excludes two petitions missing data on the SIC codes.
[End of table]
Table 3: Industries in Which Petitions Were Denied Due to No Increase
in Imports or Production Shift Abroad, Fiscal Year 2006:
SIC Code(2-digit): 35;
Industry: Industrial and commercial machinery and computer equipment;
Number of petitions denied: 27.
SIC Code(2-digit): 37;
Industry: Transportation equipment;
Number of petitions denied: 22.
SIC Code(2-digit): 24;
Industry: Lumber and wood products, except furniture;
Number of petitions denied: 21.
SIC Code(2-digit): 30;
Industry: Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products;
Number of petitions denied: 21.
SIC Code(2-digit): 34;
Industry: Fabricated metal parts, except machinery and transportation
equipment;
Number of petitions denied: 20.
SIC Code(2-digit): 22;
Industry: Textile mill products;
Number of petitions denied: 16.
SIC Code(2-digit): 36;
Industry: Electronic and other electrical equipment and components,
except computer equipment;
Number of petitions denied: 16.
SIC Code(2-digit): 26;
Industry: Paper and allied products;
Number of petitions denied: 12.
SIC Code(2-digit): 27;
Industry: Printing, publishing, and allied industries;
Number of petitions denied: 9.
SIC Code(2-digit): 28;
Industry: Chemicals and allied products;
Number of petitions denied: 9.
SIC Code(2-digit): 23;
Industry: Apparel and other finished products made from fabrics and
similar materials;
Number of petitions denied: 8.
SIC Code(2-digit): 39;
Industry: Miscellaneous manufacturing industries;
Number of petitions denied: 8.
SIC Code(2-digit): 20;
Industry: Food and kindred products;
Number of petitions denied: 5.
SIC Code(2-digit): 25;
Industry: Furniture and fixtures;
Number of petitions denied: 5.
SIC Code(2-digit): 38;
Industry: Measuring, analyzing, and controlling instruments;
photographic, medical, and optical goods;
watches and clocks;
Number of petitions denied: 5.
SIC Code(2-digit): 32;
Industry: Stone, clay, glass, and concrete products;
Number of petitions denied: 4.
SIC Code(2-digit): 33;
Industry: Primary metal industries;
Number of petitions denied: 4.
SIC Code(2-digit): 1;
Industry: Agricultural production crops;
Number of petitions denied: 3.
SIC Code(2-digit): 73;
Industry: Business services;
Number of petitions denied: 3.
SIC Code(2-digit): 42;
Industry: Motor freight transportation and warehousing;
Number of petitions denied: 2.
SIC Code(2-digit): 14;
Industry: Mining and quarrying of nonmetallic minerals, except fuels;
Number of petitions denied: 1.
SIC Code(2-digit): 50;
Industry: Wholesale trade durable goods;
Number of petitions denied: 1.
SIC Code(2-digit): 87;
Industry: Engineering, accounting, research, management, and related
services;
Number of petitions denied: 1.
Industry: SIC Code(2-digit)Industry: Total;
Number of petitions denied: SIC Code(2-digit)Number of petitions
denied: 223.
Source: Department of Labor petitions data.
[End of table]
Table 4: Industries in Which Petitions Were Denied Due to No Employment
Decline, Fiscal Year 2006:
SIC Code (2-digit): 22;
Industry: Textile mill products;
Number of petitions denied: 17.
SIC Code (2-digit): 23;
Industry: Apparel and other finished products made from fabrics and
similar materials;
Number of petitions denied: 12.
SIC Code (2-digit): 73;
Industry: Business services;
Number of petitions denied: 9.
SIC Code (2-digit): 35;
Industry: Industrial and commercial machinery and computer equipment;
Number of petitions denied: 8.
SIC Code (2-digit): 36;
Industry: Electronic and other electrical equipment and components,
except computer equipment;
Number of petitions denied: 8.
SIC Code (2-digit): 25;
Industry: Furniture and fixtures;
Number of petitions denied: 7.
SIC Code (2-digit): 30;
Industry: Rubber and miscellaneous plastics products;
Number of petitions denied: 6.
SIC Code (2-digit): 37;
Industry: Transportation equipment;
Number of petitions denied: 6.
SIC Code (2-digit): 34;
Industry: Fabricated metal parts, except machinery and transportation
equipment;
Number of petitions denied: 5.
SIC Code (2-digit): 28;
Industry: Chemicals and allied products;
Number of petitions denied: 4.
SIC Code (2-digit): 32;
Industry: Stone, clay, glass, and concrete products;
Number of petitions denied: 4.
SIC Code (2-digit): 24;
Industry: Lumber and wood products, except furniture;
Number of petitions denied: 3.
SIC Code (2-digit): 38;
Industry: Measuring, analyzing, and controlling instruments;
photographic, medical, and optical goods;
watches and clocks;
Number of petitions denied: 3.
SIC Code (2-digit): 26;
Industry: Paper and allied products;
Number of petitions denied: 2.
SIC Code (2-digit): 39;
Industry: Miscellaneous manufacturing industries;
Number of petitions denied: 2.
SIC Code (2-digit): 87;
Industry: Engineering, accounting, research, management, and related
services;
Number of petitions denied: 2.
SIC Code (2-digit): 7;
Industry: Agricultural services;
Number of petitions denied: 1.
SIC Code (2-digit): 33;
Industry: Primary metal industries;
Number of petitions denied: 1.
SIC Code (2-digit): 42;
Industry: Motor freight transportation and warehousing;
Number of petitions denied: 1.
Total;
Number of petitions denied: SIC Code (2-digit)Number of petitions
denied: 101.
Source: Department of Labor petitions data.
Note: Excludes one petition missing data on the SIC code.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix III: Industries with Three Petitions Certified in 180 Days,
2003 to 2005:
Tables 5 and 6 list the 222 industries that had three petitions
certified in 180 days from 2003 to 2005. Table 5 lists the 69
industries we were able to analyze with trade and unemployment data,
and table 6 lists the industries we were not able to analyze due to
data limitations.
Table 5: Industries with Trade and Unemployment Data Available to
Analyze:
#: 1;
SIC code: 2273;
Industry: Carpets and rugs;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 12.
#: 2;
SIC code: 2435;
Industry: Hardwood veneer and plywood;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 16.
#: 3;
SIC code: 2493;
Industry: Reconstituted wood products;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 15.
#: 4;
SIC code: 2521;
Industry: Wood office furniture;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 13.
#: 5;
SIC code: 2522;
Industry: Office furniture, except wood;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 9.
#: 6;
SIC code: 2591;
Industry: Drapery hardware and window blinds and shades;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 8.
#: 7;
SIC code: 2655;
Industry: Fiber cans, tubes, drums, and similar products;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 6.
#: 8;
SIC code: 2673;
Industry: Plastics, foil, and coated paper bags;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 5.
#: 9;
SIC code: 2678;
Industry: Stationery, tablets, and related products;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 11.
#: 10;
SIC code: 2732;
Industry: Book printing;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 8.
#: 11;
SIC code: 2821;
Industry: Plastics materials, synthetic and resins, and nonvulcanizable
elastomers;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 33.
#: 12;
SIC code: 2822;
Industry: Synthetic rubber;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 9.
#: 13;
SIC code: 2824;
Industry: Manmade organic fibers, except cellulosic;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 7.
#: 14;
SIC code: 2842;
Industry: Specialty cleaning, polishing, and sanitation preparations;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 3.
#: 15;
SIC code: 2874;
Industry: Phosphatic fertilizers;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 3.
#: 16;
SIC code: 2879;
Industry: Pesticides and agricultural chemicals, not elsewhere
classified;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 4.
#: 17;
SIC code: 2891;
Industry: Adhesives and sealants;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 9.
#: 18;
SIC code: 3011;
Industry: Tires and inner tubes;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 12.
#: 19;
SIC code: 3052;
Industry: Rubber and plastics hose and belting;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 11.
#: 20;
SIC code: 3053;
Industry: Gaskets, packing, and sealing devices;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 19.
#: 21;
SIC code: 3081;
Industry: Unsupported plastics film and sheet;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 10.
#: 22;
SIC code: 3085;
Industry: Plastics bottles;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 4.
#: 23;
SIC code: 3143;
Industry: Men's footwear, except athletic;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 10.
#: 24;
SIC code: 3149;
Industry: Footwear, except rubber, not elsewhere classified;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 4.
#: 25;
SIC code: 3161;
Industry: Luggage;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 7.
#: 26;
SIC code: 3229;
Industry: Pressed and blown glass and glassware, not elsewhere
classified;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 13.
#: 27;
SIC code: 3231;
Industry: Glass products made of purchased glass;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 9.
#: 28;
SIC code: 3253;
Industry: Ceramic wall and floor tile;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 7.
#: 29;
SIC code: 3261;
Industry: Vitreous china plumbing fixtures and china and earthenware
fittings and bathroom accessories;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 8.
#: 30;
SIC code: 3264;
Industry: Porcelain electrical supplies;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 14.
#: 31;
SIC code: 3334;
Industry: Primary production of aluminum;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 6.
#: 32;
SIC code: 3339;
Industry: Primary smelting and refining of nonferrous metals, except
copper and aluminum;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 8.
#: 33;
SIC code: 3425;
Industry: Saw blades and handsaws;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 9.
#: 34;
SIC code: 3431;
Industry: Enameled iron and metal sanitary ware;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 11.
#: 35;
SIC code: 3465;
Industry: Automotive stampings;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 19.
#: 36;
SIC code: 3491;
Industry: Industrial valves;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 12.
#: 37;
SIC code: 3511;
Industry: Steam, gas, and hydraulic turbines, and turbine generator set
units;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 5.
#: 38;
SIC code: 3532;
Industry: Mining machinery and equipment, except oil and gas field
machinery and equipment;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 5.
#: 39;
SIC code: 3541;
Industry: Machine tools, metal cutting types;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 10.
#: 40;
SIC code: 3542;
Industry: Machine tools, metal forming type;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 13.
#: 41;
SIC code: 3543;
Industry: Industrial patterns;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 3.
#: 42;
SIC code: 3544;
Industry: Special dies and tools, die sets, jigs and fixtures, and
industrial molds;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 56.
#: 43;
SIC code: 3546;
Industry: Power-driven handtools;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 16.
#: 44;
SIC code: 3552;
Industry: Textile machinery;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 9.
#: 45;
SIC code: 3554;
Industry: Paper industries machinery;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 9.
#: 46;
SIC code: 3555;
Industry: Printing trades machinery and equipment;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 6.
#: 47;
SIC code: 3562;
Industry: Ball and roller bearings;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 11.
#: 48;
SIC code: 3563;
Industry: Air and gas compressors;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 10.
#: 49;
SIC code: 3564;
Industry: Industrial and commercial fans and blowers and air
purification equipment;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 10.
#: 50;
SIC code: 3566;
Industry: Speed changers, industrial high-speed drives, and gears;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 5.
#: 51;
SIC code: 3571;
Industry: Electronic computers;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 17.
#: 52;
SIC code: 3613;
Industry: Switchgear and switchboard apparatus;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 15.
#: 53;
SIC code: 3625;
Industry: Relays and industrial controls;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 20.
#: 54;
SIC code: 3632;
Industry: Household refrigerators and home and farm freezers;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 9.
#: 55;
SIC code: 3641;
Industry: Electric lamp bulbs and tubes;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 8.
#: 56;
SIC code: 3643;
Industry: Current-carrying wiring devices;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 28.
#: 57;
SIC code: 3669;
Industry: Communications equipment, not elsewhere classified;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003- 2005: 14.
#: 58;
SIC code: 3671;
Industry: Electron tubes;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 17.
#: 59;
SIC code: 3672;
Industry: Printed circuit boards;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 81.
#: 60;
SIC code: 3674;
Industry: Semiconductors and related devices;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 78.
#: 61;
SIC code: 3675;
Industry: Electronic capacitors;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 16.
#: 62;
SIC code: 3676;
Industry: Electronic resistors;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 7.
#: 63;
SIC code: 3677;
Industry: Electronic coils, transformers, and other inductors;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 7.
#: 64;
SIC code: 3691;
Industry: Storage batteries;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 10.
#: 65;
SIC code: 3822;
Industry: Automatic controls for regulating residential and commercial
environments and appliances;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 10.
#: 66;
SIC code: 3823;
Industry: Industrial instruments for measurement, display, and control
of process variables;
and related products;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 28.
#: 67;
SIC code: 3826;
Industry: Laboratory analytical instruments;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 6.
#: 68;
SIC code: 3861;
Industry: Photographic equipment and supplies;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: X;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 22.
#: 69;
SIC code: 3931;
Industry: Musical instruments;
Met 15% increase in import share of domestic market threshold in 1
year: [Empty];
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 10.
Source: GAO analysis of Department of Labor petitions data, Mass Layoff
Statistics data, and Census' trade and production data.
[End of table]
Table 6: Industries That Could Not Be Analyzed Due to Data Limitations:
#: 70;
SIC code: 182;
Industry: Food crops grown under cover;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 5.
#: 71;
SIC code: 912;
Industry: Finfish;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 67.
#: 72;
SIC code: 2064;
Industry: Candy and other confectionery products;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 11.
#: 73;
SIC code: 2092;
Industry: Prepared fresh or frozen fish and seafoods;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 17.
#: 74;
SIC code: 2099;
Industry: Food preparations, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 6.
#: 75;
SIC code: 2211;
Industry: Broadwoven fabric mills, cotton;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 100.
#: 76;
SIC code: 2221;
Industry: Broadwoven fabric mills, manmade fiber and silk;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 50.
#: 77;
SIC code: 2231;
Industry: Broadwoven fabric mills, wool;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 34.
#: 78;
SIC code: 2241;
Industry: Narrow fabric and other smallware mills: cotton, wool, silk
and manmade fiber;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 42.
#: 79;
SIC code: 2251;
Industry: Women's full-length and knee-length hosiery, except socks;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 24.
#: 80;
SIC code: 2252;
Industry: Hosiery, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 78.
#: 81;
SIC code: 2253;
Industry: Knit outerwear mills;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 26.
#: 82;
SIC code: 2254;
Industry: Knit underwear and nightwear mills;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 5.
#: 83;
SIC code: 2257;
Industry: Weft knit fabric mills;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 25.
#: 84;
SIC code: 2258;
Industry: Lace and warp knit fabric mills;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 23.
#: 85;
SIC code: 2259;
Industry: Knitting mills, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 5.
#: 86;
SIC code: 2261;
Industry: Finishers of broadwoven fabrics of cotton;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 24.
#: 87;
SIC code: 2269;
Industry: Finishers of textiles, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 10.
#: 88;
SIC code: 2281;
Industry: Yarn spinning mills;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 61.
#: 89;
SIC code: 2282;
Industry: Yarn texturizing, throwing, twisting and winding mills;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 29.
#: 90;
SIC code: 2284;
Industry: Thread mills;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 12.
#: 91;
SIC code: 2299;
Industry: Textile goods, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 21.
#: 92;
SIC code: 2311;
Industry: Men's and boys' suits, coats, and overcoats;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 7.
#: 93;
SIC code: 2321;
Industry: Men's and boys' shirts, except work shirts;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 50.
#: 94;
SIC code: 2322;
Industry: Men's and boys' underwear and nightwear;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 25.
#: 95;
SIC code: 2325;
Industry: Men's and boys' separate trousers and slacks;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 37.
#: 96;
SIC code: 2326;
Industry: Men's and boys' work clothing;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 28.
#: 97;
SIC code: 2329;
Industry: Men's and boys' clothing, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 33.
#: 98;
SIC code: 2331;
Industry: Women's, misses', and juniors' blouses and shirts;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 53.
#: 99;
SIC code: 2335;
Industry: Women's, misses', and juniors' dresses;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 22.
#: 100;
SIC code: 2337;
Industry: Women's, misses', and juniors' suits, skirts, and coats;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 24.
#: 101;
SIC code: 2339;
Industry: Women's, misses', and juniors' outerwear, not elsewhere
classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 58.
#: 102;
SIC code: 2341;
Industry: Women's, misses', children's, and infants' underwear and
nightwear;
Number of petitions certified, 2003- 2005: 30.
#: 103;
SIC code: 2353;
Industry: Hats, caps, and millinery;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 14.
#: 104;
SIC code: 2361;
Industry: Girls', children's, and infants' dresses, blouses, and
shirts;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 10.
#: 105;
SIC code: 2369;
Industry: Girls', children's, and infants' outerwear, not elsewhere
classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 12.
#: 106;
SIC code: 2381;
Industry: Dress and work gloves, except knit and all-leather;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 8.
#: 107;
SIC code: 2391;
Industry: Curtains and draperies;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 15.
#: 108;
SIC code: 2392;
Industry: Housefurnishings, except curtains and draperies;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 88.
#: 109;
SIC code: 2393;
Industry: Textile bags;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 10.
#: 110;
SIC code: 2395;
Industry: Pleating, decorative and novelty stitching, and tucking for
the trade;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 7.
#: 111;
SIC code: 2396;
Industry: Automotive trimmings, apparel findings, and related products;
Number of petitions certified, 2003- 2005: 11.
#: 112;
SIC code: 2399;
Industry: Fabricated textile products, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 12.
#: 113;
SIC code: 2411;
Industry: Logging;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 6.
#: 114;
SIC code: 2421;
Industry: Sawmills and planing mills, general;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 33.
#: 115;
SIC code: 2426;
Industry: Hardwood dimension and flooring mills;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 28.
#: 116;
SIC code: 2431;
Industry: Millwork;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 16.
#: 117;
SIC code: 2499;
Industry: Wood products, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 40.
#: 118;
SIC code: 2511;
Industry: Wood household furniture, except upholstered;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 124.
#: 119;
SIC code: 2512;
Industry: Wood household furniture, upholstered;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 37.
#: 120;
SIC code: 2514;
Industry: Metal household furniture;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 20.
#: 121;
SIC code: 2531;
Industry: Public building and related furniture;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 7.
#: 122;
SIC code: 2541;
Industry: Wood office and store fixtures, partitions, shelving, and
lockers;
Number of petitions certified, 2003- 2005: 11.
#: 123;
SIC code: 2621;
Industry: Paper mills;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 35.
#: 124;
SIC code: 2671;
Industry: Packaging paper and plastics film, coated and laminated;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 10.
#: 125;
SIC code: 2672;
Industry: Coated and laminated paper, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 14.
#: 126;
SIC code: 2679;
Industry: Converted paper and paperboard products, not elsewhere
classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 12.
#: 127;
SIC code: 2759;
Industry: Commercial printing, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 13.
#: 128;
SIC code: 2782;
Industry: Blankbooks, looseleaf binders and devices;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 8.
#: 129;
SIC code: 2819;
Industry: Industrial inorganic chemicals, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 27.
#: 130;
SIC code: 2834;
Industry: Pharmaceutical preparations;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 9.
#: 131;
SIC code: 2844;
Industry: Perfumes, cosmetics, and other toilet preparations;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 7.
#: 132;
SIC code: 2851;
Industry: Paints, varnishes, lacquers, enamels and allied products;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 13.
#: 133;
SIC code: 2865;
Industry: Cyclic organic crudes and intermediates, and organic dyes and
pigments;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 14.
#: 134;
SIC code: 2869;
Industry: Industrial organic chemicals, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 15.
#: 135;
SIC code: 2899;
Industry: Chemicals and chemical preparations, not elsewhere
classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 11.
#: 136;
SIC code: 3061;
Industry: Molded, extruded, and lathe-cut mechanical rubber goods;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 13.
#: 137;
SIC code: 3069;
Industry: Fabricated rubber products, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 41.
#: 138;
SIC code: 3083;
Industry: Laminated plastics plate, sheet, and profile shapes;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 15.
#: 139;
SIC code: 3089;
Industry: Plastics products, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 76.
#: 140;
SIC code: 3111;
Industry: Leather tanning and finishing;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 13.
#: 141;
SIC code: 3151;
Industry: Leather gloves and mittens;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 3.
#: 142;
SIC code: 3291;
Industry: Abrasive products;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 4.
#: 143;
SIC code: 3292;
Industry: Asbestos products;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 5.
#: 144;
SIC code: 3295;
Industry: Minerals and earths, ground or otherwise treated;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 7.
#: 145;
SIC code: 3312;
Industry: Steel works, blast furnaces;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 74.
#: 146;
SIC code: 3315;
Industry: Steel wiredrawing and steel nails and spikes;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 9.
#: 147;
SIC code: 3316;
Industry: Cold-rolled steel sheet, strip, and bars;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 3.
#: 148;
SIC code: 3317;
Industry: Steel pipe and tubes;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 10.
#: 149;
SIC code: 3321;
Industry: Gray and ductile iron foundries;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 20.
#: 150;
SIC code: 3325;
Industry: Steel foundries, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 11.
#: 151;
SIC code: 3341;
Industry: Secondary smelting and refining of nonferrous metals;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 5.
#: 152;
SIC code: 3356;
Industry: Rolling, drawing, and extruding of nonferrous metals, except
copper and aluminum;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 6.
#: 153;
SIC code: 3357;
Industry: Drawing and insulating of nonferrous wire;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 28.
#: 154;
SIC code: 3364;
Industry: Nonferrous die-castings, except aluminum;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 11.
#: 155;
SIC code: 3365;
Industry: Aluminum foundries;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 12.
#: 156;
SIC code: 3423;
Industry: Hand and edge tools, except machine tools and handsaws;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 22.
#: 157;
SIC code: 3429;
Industry: Hardware, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 30.
#: 158;
SIC code: 3432;
Industry: Plumbing fixture fittings and trim;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 13.
#: 159;
SIC code: 3433;
Industry: Heating equipment, except electric and warm air furnaces;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 5.
#: 160;
SIC code: 3441;
Industry: Fabricated structural metal;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 10.
#: 161;
SIC code: 3443;
Industry: Fabricated plate work;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 16.
#: 162;
SIC code: 3444;
Industry: Sheet metal work;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 17.
#: 163;
SIC code: 3452;
Industry: Bolts, nuts, screws, rivets, and washers;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 10.
#: 164;
SIC code: 3462;
Industry: Iron and steel forgings;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 11.
#: 165;
SIC code: 3469;
Industry: Metal stampings, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 34.
#: 166;
SIC code: 3479;
Industry: Coating, engraving, and allied services, not elsewhere
classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 7.
#: 167;
SIC code: 3492;
Industry: Fluid power valves and hose fittings;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 19.
#: 168;
SIC code: 3496;
Industry: Miscellaneous fabricated wire products;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 27.
#: 169;
SIC code: 3499;
Industry: Fabricated metal products, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 29.
#: 170;
SIC code: 3523;
Industry: Farm machinery and equipment;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 5.
#: 171;
SIC code: 3524;
Industry: Lawn and garden tractors and home lawn and garden equipment;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 9.
#: 172;
SIC code: 3531;
Industry: Construction machinery and equipment;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 9.
#: 173;
SIC code: 3537;
Industry: Industrial trucks, tractors, trailers, and stackers;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 8.
#: 174;
SIC code: 3545;
Industry: Cutting tools, machine tool accessories, and machinist
precision measuring devices;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 17.
#: 175;
SIC code: 3548;
Industry: Electric and gas welding and soldering equipment;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 6.
#: 176;
SIC code: 3549;
Industry: Metalworking machinery, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 6.
#: 177;
SIC code: 3559;
Industry: Special industry machinery, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 15.
#: 178;
SIC code: 3561;
Industry: Pumps and pumping equipment;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 8.
#: 179;
SIC code: 3569;
Industry: General industrial machinery and equipment, not elsewhere
classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 9.
#: 180;
SIC code: 3575;
Industry: Computer terminals;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 4.
#: 181;
SIC code: 3577;
Industry: Computer peripheral equipment, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 26.
#: 182;
SIC code: 3585;
Industry: Air-conditioning and warm air heating equipment and
commercial and industrial refrigeration equipment;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 35.
#: 183;
SIC code: 3592;
Industry: Carburetors, pistons, piston rings, and valves;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 11.
#: 184;
SIC code: 3599;
Industry: Industrial and commercial machinery and equipment, not
elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 6.
#: 185;
SIC code: 3612;
Industry: Power, distribution, and specialty transformers;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 18.
#: 186;
SIC code: 3621;
Industry: Motors and generators;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 36.
#: 187;
SIC code: 3629;
Industry: Electrical industrial apparatus, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 9.
#: 188;
SIC code: 3634;
Industry: Electric housewares and fans;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 24.
#: 189;
SIC code: 3644;
Industry: Noncurrent-carrying wiring devices;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 8.
#: 190;
SIC code: 3645;
Industry: Residential electric lighting fixtures;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 18.
#: 191;
SIC code: 3646;
Industry: Commercial, industrial, and institutional electric lighting
fixtures;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 6.
#: 192;
SIC code: 3648;
Industry: Lighting equipment, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 7.
#: 193;
SIC code: 3651;
Industry: Household audio and video equipment;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 24.
#: 194;
SIC code: 3661;
Industry: Telephone and telegraph apparatus;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 20.
#: 195;
SIC code: 3663;
Industry: Radio and television broadcasting and communications
equipment;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 38.
#: 196;
SIC code: 3679;
Industry: Electronic components, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 84.
#: 197;
SIC code: 3694;
Industry: Electrical equipment for internal combustion engines;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 21.
#: 198;
SIC code: 3695;
Industry: Magnetic and optical recording media;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 8.
#: 199;
SIC code: 3699;
Industry: Electrical machinery, equipment, and supplies, not elsewhere
classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 7.
#: 200;
SIC code: 3711;
Industry: Motor vehicles and passenger car bodies;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 9.
#: 201;
SIC code: 3713;
Industry: Truck and bus bodies;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 5.
#: 202;
SIC code: 3714;
Industry: Motor vehicle parts and accessories;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 200.
#: 203;
SIC code: 3721;
Industry: Aircraft;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 10.
#: 204;
SIC code: 3724;
Industry: Aircraft engines and engine parts;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 6.
#: 205;
SIC code: 3728;
Industry: Aircraft parts and auxiliary equipment, not elsewhere
classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 13.
#: 206;
SIC code: 3751;
Industry: Motorcycles, bicycles, and parts;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 6.
#: 207;
SIC code: 3824;
Industry: Totalizing fluid meters and counting devices;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 6.
#: 208;
SIC code: 3825;
Industry: Instruments for measuring and testing of electricity and
electrical signals;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 56.
#: 209;
SIC code: 3829;
Industry: Measuring and controlling devices, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 14.
#: 210;
SIC code: 3841;
Industry: Surgical and medical instruments and apparatus;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 36.
#: 211;
SIC code: 3842;
Industry: Orthopedic, prosthetic, and surgical appliances and supplies;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 48.
#: 212;
SIC code: 3845;
Industry: Electromedical and electrotherapeutic apparatus;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 5.
#: 213;
SIC code: 3911;
Industry: Jewelry, precious metal;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 6.
#: 214;
SIC code: 3914;
Industry: Silverware, plated ware, and stainless steel ware;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 9.
#: 215;
SIC code: 3944;
Industry: Games, toys, and children's vehicles, except dolls and
bicycles;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 10.
#: 216;
SIC code: 3949;
Industry: Sporting and athletic goods, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 38.
#: 217;
SIC code: 3952;
Industry: Lead pencils and art goods;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 6.
#: 218;
SIC code: 3991;
Industry: Brooms and brushes;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 5.
#: 219;
SIC code: 3999;
Industry: Manufacturing industries, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 26.
#: 220;
SIC code: 7389;
Industry: Business services, not elsewhere classified;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 22.
#: 221;
SIC code: 8711;
Industry: Engineering services;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 4.
#: 222;
SIC code: 8741;
Industry: Management services;
Number of petitions certified, 2003-2005: 10.
Source: GAO analysis of Department of Labor petitions data, Mass Layoff
Statistics data, and Census' trade and production data.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix IV: Additional Analysis of the 69 Industries:
To assess the sensitivity of the criteria to changes in the trade
threshold, we analyzed the 69 industries for which we had complete data
using a range of thresholds. We found that more stringent criteria
sometimes resulted in appreciable differences in the number of workers
eligible for TAA in those industries. For example, if to be certified,
an industry not only had to have a 10 percent increase in the import
share of the domestic market in 1 year but also had an increase in the
import share during the 2 other years between 2003 and 2005, we
estimated that there would have been a 24 percent increase in the
number of workers eligible for TAA in the 69 industries we analyzed
(see table 7). Because the 69 industries for which we had comprehensive
data were not selected randomly, the results cannot be generalized to
the entire group of 222 industries that met the three petitions
certified in 180 days criteria nor are they predictive of future levels
of eligible workers.
Table 7: Estimated Increase in the Number of Eligible Workers in 69
Industries under Various Criteria, 2003 to 2005:
Additional Criteria for Industry Certification: 10 percent increase in
the import share of the domestic market in 1 year and increases in 2
other years;
Estimated percent increase: 24.
Additional Criteria for Industry Certification: 15 percent increase in
the import share of the domestic market in 1 year and increases in 2
other years;
Estimated percent increase: 9.
Additional Criteria for Industry Certification: 20 percent increase in
the import share of the domestic market in 1 year and increases in 2
other years;
Estimated percent increase: 7.
Additional Criteria for Industry Certification: 10 percent in the
import share of the domestic market in 1 year or increases of any size
in 3 consecutive years;
Estimated percent increase: 97.
Additional Criteria for Industry Certification: 15 percent in the
import share of the domestic market in 1 year or increases of any size
in 3 consecutive years;
Estimated percent increase: 82.
Additional Criteria for Industry Certification: 20 percent in the
import share of the domestic market in 1 year or increases of any size
in 3 consecutive years;
Estimated percent increase: 76.
Source: GAO analysis of Department of Labor petitions data, Extended
Mass Layoff Statistics data, and Census' trade and production data.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix V: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments:
GAO Contact:
Sigurd R. Nilsen, Director (202) 512-7215 or nilsens@gao.gov:
Acknowledgments:
Dianne Blank, Assistant Director Yunsian Tai, Analyst-in-Charge:
Michael Hoffman, Rhiannon Patterson, and Timothy Wedding made
significant contributions to all aspects of this report. In addition,
Kim Frankena assisted with research on trade remedies, and Rachel
Valliere provided writing assistance. Christopher Morehouse, Theresa
Lo, Mark Glickman, Jean McSween, and Seyda Wentworth verified our
findings.
[End of section]
Related GAO Products:
Trade Adjustment Assistance: Program Provides an Array of Benefits and
Services to Trade-Affected Workers. GAO-07-994T. Washington, D.C.: June
14, 2007.
Trade Adjustment Assistance: Changes Needed to Improve States' Ability
to Provide Benefits and Services to Trade-Affected Workers. GAO-07-
995T. Washington, D.C.: June 14, 2007.
Trade Adjustment Assistance: Changes to Funding Allocation and
Eligibility Requirements Could Enhance States' Ability to Provide
Benefits and Services. GAO-07-701, GAO-07-702. Washington, D.C.: May
31, 2007.
Trade Adjustment Assistance: New Program for Farmers Provides Some
Assistance, but Has Had Limited Participation and Low Program
Expenditures. GAO-07-201. Washington, D.C.: December 18, 2006.
Trade Adjustment Assistance: Labor Should Take Action to Ensure
Performance Data Are Complete, Accurate, and Accessible. GAO-06-496.
Washington, D.C.: April, 25, 2006.
Trade Adjustment Assistance: Most Workers in Five Layoffs Received
Services, but Better Outreach Needed on New Benefits. GAO-06-43.
Washington, D.C.: January 31, 2006.
Trade Adjustment Assistance: Reforms Have Accelerated Training
Enrollment, but Implementation Challenges Remain. GAO-04-1012.
Washington, D.C.: September 22, 2004.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Other benefits include wage insurance for workers age 50 and older
and job search and relocation allowances. An additional $80 million was
provided for the health coverage tax credit advance payment benefit in
2006.
[2] In fiscal year 2004, approximately 138,000 workers were estimated
to be certified for TAA. In fiscal year 2005, about 122,000 workers
were estimated to be certified, and in fiscal year 2006, about 123,000
workers were estimated to be certified. The data used to estimate the
number of workers certified as eligible for TAA is based on estimates
of the number of affected workers submitted by companies at the time
TAA petitions are filed with the Department of Labor. At the time
petitions are submitted, companies may not know exactly how many
workers will be affected.
[3] Fiscal year 2006 was the first year that complete data were
available on the reasons petitions were denied.
[4] When companies lay off workers at multiple divisions or locations,
they may file separate petitions for each division or location. In
these situations, we counted the separate petitions as one so that an
industry did not become eligible to be considered for certification
when the three petitions were from the same company.
[5] These industries are based on 4-digit Standard Industrial
Classification (SIC) System codes.
[6] Increasing the number of certified petitions required in a 180-day
period from 3 to 5 would cut in half--from 222 to 111--the number of
industries that would have met this criterion during 2003 to 2005.
[7] Under the proposal, if Labor determines that an industry should not
be certified, workers who are laid off in that industry could still be
certified for TAA by filing a petition through the layoff-by-layoff
certification process.
[8] Of the 222 industries, we analyzed 69 for which we had complete
data. The data available used different classification systems that we
matched to each other, but we only included data for which we had
complete and well-defined matches. In addition, our production data was
limited to manufacturing industries only. Since the 69 industries were
not drawn from a random sample, the results of this analysis are not
necessarily representative of the entire 222 industries, nor are they
predictive of future levels of eligible workers. See appendix I for
more information on our methodology.
[9] While we chose these criteria to illustrate the impact that more or
less restrictive thresholds could have on the number of industries and
additional workers that would become eligible for TAA, an investigation
would likely examine a variety of measures, not a single one as we have
shown here.
[10] Our analysis applied the same threshold to all industries. In
practice, the criteria could vary by industry in order to take into
account industry-specific patterns in trade and other economic
criteria. For example, it may be difficult for industries with
historically large volumes of imports to meet the criteria of a 10 or
15 percent increase in import share of the domestic market. These
industries could experience significant increases in the absolute
volume of imports, but because the baseline is large, the increase may
not account for a 10 or 15 percent change.
[11] We used the information from the 69 industries we could analyze to
estimate the potential increases in eligible workers programwide. These
estimates are subject to the limitation that the 69 industries may not
be representative of all 222 industries that had 3 petitions certified
in 180 days. For example, if there were no additional criteria beyond 3
petitions certified in 180 days, the overall number of workers eligible
for TAA might have nearly doubled, from 118,000 to 233,000 in 2005. If
the trade threshold were set at a 10 percent increase in the import
share, the number of eligible workers might have increased by
approximately 49 percent, from 118,000 to 175,000. If certification
were limited to industries with a 15 percent increase in any 1 year,
the number of workers eligible for TAA might have increased by
approximately 27 percent, from 118,000 to 150,000. If the criteria were
a 20 percent increase in the import share in any 1 year, the number of
workers eligible for TAA might have increased by about 22 percent, from
118,000 to 144,000. To obtain these programwide estimates, we assumed
that all 222 industries would have similar increases in the number of
eligible workers as the 69 industries we analyzed. We then added the
number of workers who would have been eligible for TAA in the 222
industries, where eligibility would expand, to the actual number of
workers certified in the 293 industries that did not meet the 3
petitions certified criteria. We then compared this to the original
number of workers actually certified for TAA in all 515 industries with
at least one TAA certification. This enabled us to estimate program
wide percentage increases in the number of eligible workers. However,
as we noted above, the results of our analysis of the 69 industries are
not necessarily representative of the entire 222 industries because the
69 industries were not drawn from a random sample.
[12] Our analysis looked specifically at the time period between 2003
and 2005. We examined whether an industry had a 15 percent increase in
the import share of the domestic market in 1 year and increases in the
import share in 2 other years between 2003 and 2005.
[13] After a state receives notification from Labor that a TAA petition
has been certified, it obtains from the company a list of the workers
affected by the certified layoff and sends a letter to these workers
informing them of their potential eligibility for TAA. Sometimes
companies are unable or unwilling to provide these lists in a timely
manner.
[14] The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act
requires employers to give their employees or their representatives,
the state's dislocated worker unit, and local government officials 60
days advance notice of a mass layoff or plant closure. Generally
speaking, the WARN Act applies to employers with 100 or more full-time
workers involved in layoffs or plant closures that affect 50 or more
workers.
[15] In a 2003 report on the WARN Act, GAO found that employers
provided notice for an estimated 36 percent of mass layoffs or plant
closures that appeared subject to WARN's advance notice requirements.
GAO, The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act: Revising
the Act and Educational Materials Could Clarify Employer
Responsibilities and Employee Rights, GAO-03-1003 (Washington, D.C.:
Sept. 19, 2003).
[16] Some products are covered by multiple duty orders. According to
ITC officials, there are currently no safeguard measures in place.
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