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To alert the States to the opportunity for the provision of adjustment assistance under Title III of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) to workers in secondary firms who are adversely affected by NAFTA. References: The NAFTA Implementation Act (Pub. L. 103-182) is referred to as "the Act." The program of trade adjustment assistance for workers established by Chapter 2 of Title II of the Trade Act of 1974 is referred to as the "TAA Program". The Trade Act of 1974 may be referred to as simply the "Trade Act." The NAFTA Implementation Act Title V--NAFTA Transitional Adjustment Assistance and Other Provisions, affecting the TAA program is referred to as Title V or NAFTA-TAA. Background: The Trade Act of 1974 made major changes to the trade adjustment assistance program for workers displaced because of increased imports of articles like or directly competitive with articles produced by the workers' firm. On receiving a petition for trade adjustment assistance from a group of workers or its authorized representative, the Department of Labor conducts a factfinding investigation in response to the petition. If the findings substantiate that the workers of a firm or subdivision of have been adversely affected by import competition, a certification is issued by the Secretary of Labor to the worker group stating that the workers are eligible to apply at a local office of the State employment security agency for TAA benefits. Benefits include up to 104 weeks of training in new occupational skills, and job search assistance and relocation allowances when jobs are not available within the commuting area from the worker's residence. Workers participating in training (unless the training requirement is waived) may also receive up to 52 weeks of trade readjustment allowance (TRA) payments which are generally equivalent to the worker's unemployment insurance payment. Regulations implementing the adjustment assistance program for workers in Chapter 2, Title II, of the Trade Act are published at 20 CFR Part 617. On December 8, 1993, the President signed into law the "North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act." These imple- menting instructions relate only to those provisions of Title V affecting the TAA Program. Most of the provisions of Title V are in the form of amendments to Chapter 2 of Title II of the Trade Act of 1974, and while some of the provisions of Title V are not in the form of amendments to the Trade Act, they nonetheless must be given effect in implementing the NAFTA-TAA program. While the NAFTA-TAA is generally similar to the existing TAA Program, it does differ in several ways. Governors have a specific role in the new adjustment assistance program targeted to workers who may be displaced because of trade with Canada or Mexico. State agencies also have new program responsibilities. The NAFTA-TAA program requires workers to be enrolled in training to qualify for trade readjustment allowance (TRA) payments and does not allow the waiver of the training requirement when training is not "feasible or appropriate", which is now available to eligible workers in the regular TAA program. To provide for these differences, Section 502 of the Act adds a new Subchapter D--NAFTA Transitional Adjustment Assistance Program, to Chapter 2 of Title II of the Trade Act. Subchapter D adds one section-- Section 250, Establishment of a Transitional Program--to Chapter 2, Title II of the Trade Act, creating the new NAFTA-TAA program.

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