At Hearing, Warren Calls Out Republicans for Retroactive Tariff Cuts for Big Businesses, Renewal of Federal Assistance for American Workers Affected by Trade
“Over 100,000 American workers across the country are waiting for Congress to renew TAA and help them get back on their feet. We owe it to them.”
Washington, D.C. – At a hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called for the renewal of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program to help American workers who lose their jobs due to trade. The TAA program provides critical federal assistance to workers who have involuntarily lost their jobs due to overseas competition. The program lapsed in mid-2022, meaning over 100,000 American workers who have lost their job since then and applied for TAA cannot currently receive assistance.
Responding to questions from Senator Warren about the gains from trade, Ms. Allison Gill, Legal Director at Global Labor Justice, confirmed that not everyone benefits from trade, with some workers losing their jobs, but ten years out, TAA recipients earn $50,000 more on average than workers who do not receive TAA assistance.
Senator Warren called out House Republicans for advancing a bill that provides retroactive tariff cuts to large businesses and importers by renewing the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, while refusing to renew the TAA program for American workers. Ms. Gill agreed with Senator Warren that TAA should be renewed alongside GSP.
Transcript: Hearing on “Revitalizing and Renewing GSP, AGOA and Other Trade Preference Programs”
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
June 5, 2024
Senator Elizabeth Warren: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you Senator Brown, for your leadership on these trade issues. It is so important to work with people across the country. I completely support what you are doing here.
For too long, our trade policy has been a global race to the bottom. Corporate lobbyists and trade negotiators worked in back rooms to ink deals that lowered labor and environmental standards, and made it easier to offshore jobs.
American workers have had enough. And finally, some politicians in Washington are starting to listen to those workers, but not everyone. House Republicans just advanced a bill to extend the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), a program that lowered U.S. tariffs on goods imported from certain countries without requiring those countries to cut tariffs on our exports as well.
Those same Republicans opposed renewing the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, that Senator Brown was talking about, which helps American workers get back on their feet when they lose their jobs due to trade. I also would like to talk about TAA and other policy tools that we have to protect U.S. competitiveness and workers. Let's start with a little Econ 101.
Ms. Gill, you’re the legal director of Global Labor Justice. Tell me, when the U.S. cuts tariffs and imports more goods from abroad, is it just a win-win for Americans?
Ms. Allison Gill, Legal Director, Global Labor Justice: Thank you, Senator. No, I think it’s really clear that even with careful tailoring of programs, gains from trade are not always equally distributed and some workers do lose out.
Senator Warren: Okay, so we have workers losing out when that happens. And this is basic economics that even free traders have to admit to – some people lose from trade. So what are we going to do about that?
Number one, we need to protect our workers from unfair trade. That is why President Biden is raising tariffs on massively subsidized Chinese imports like cars, computer chips, steel, and aluminum that undercut American workers. Number two, we need to invest in American competitiveness – like we have with our domestic semiconductor industry and clean energy manufacturing.
But even with all of that, some workers will lose their jobs due to trade, and that is where TAA comes in – helping those workers find new jobs. Ms. Gill, what does TAA mean for the workers who receive it?
Ms. Gill: As I noted in my remarks, we believe that labor justice begins here at home. We stand with the U.S. labor movement to call for TAA together with the renewal of GSP. TAA provides resources for retraining workers who have lost their jobs due to trade. It provides extended unemployment insurance. Some analysis of the program shows that about ten years out, workers who have received a helping hand from TAA have earned $50,000 more than workers who haven’t received the assistance –
Senator Warren: So people get training and as a result of the training, they are actually able to get good paying jobs and they are earning about $50,000 more, ten years out because they got some assistance after they lost their jobs. Since TAA lapsed in mid-2022, over 100,000 workers have lost their jobs due to trade but have been unable to get these TAA benefits. Meanwhile, House Republicans advanced legislation renewing GSP, which would retroactively cut U.S. tariffs already among the lowest in the world. Under this Republican bill, large businesses and importers who decided it was worth paying a tariff to import goods from overseas as far back as three years ago would get a windfall refund of $2.6 billion. By the way, that is five times the cost of TAA.
Ms. Gill, I know there is a lot of work that we can do to update GSP, to raise labor and environmental standards in the countries that benefit from it. But wouldn't you agree that if we are going to renew a tariff cut program like GSP, we should also renew TAA?
Ms. Gill: Simply put, yes.
Senator Warren: Yes, yes. I like that answer. That’s exactly right. Thank you. I appreciate this. American workers are sick and tired of the race to the bottom in trade and the slashing of investments in our domestic economy. I'm glad that under President Biden’s leadership, we are turning things around. Since he came into office, the United States has added 80,000 new manufacturing jobs.
But there is still so much more to do. Over 100,000 American workers across the country are waiting for Congress to renew TAA and help them get back on their feet. We owe it to them. Let’s get this done. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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