NEWS

TAAF is the only federally sponsored program by the U.S. Department of Commerce specifically designed to help American manufacturers affected by import competition. The mission of the TAAF program is to assist import-impacted U.S. firms in regaining competitiveness in the global marketplace, thereby helping to retain and create U.S. jobs. The TAAF program provides financial assistance to manufacturers that can be used to cover 50-75 percent of the costs of consultants or industry-specific experts, ranging from financial and general management, process improvement, marketing, technology implementation, cyber security, and more to strengthen operations and sharpen competitiveness. The program provides up to $75,000 of cost-share matching funds to implement critical business improvements for manufacturers to battle cheaper imports and import competition. In general, to qualify for TAAF, any manufacturing firm headquartered in the U.S. must be experiencing declines in sales and employment, as well as losing business to imports.

Since its inception, the program has assisted thousands of manufacturers nationwide. The Southeastern Trade Adjustment Assistance Center (SETAAC), housed out of the Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2) at Georgia Institute of Technology, administers the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms Program (TAAF) in GA, NC, SC, FL, AL, MS, TN, and KY. SETAAC has administered the federal program since 1974.

Contact Teresa Stockton, GIT’s Client Development Specialist, or visit www.setaac.org  for more information on federal financial assistance for manufacturers.