US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced last week $13 million in Economic Development Administration (EDA) grants will be issued to support 11 Trade Adjustment Assistance Centers (TAACs) that help American manufacturers hurt by imports adjust to increasing global competition. The TAACs are located in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Massachussetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.

“This program is just one element,” said Ross, “of a vast, government-wide effort to restore jobs, strengthen domestic manufacturing, and ensure free, fair, and reciprocal trade.”

“I am pleased with the announcement that the Economic Development Administration will be awarding a grant to the Mid-America TAAC at the University of Missouri-Columbia, in my district, to assist manufacturers in Missouri and throughout the Midwest.,” said Representative Vicky Hartzler, a Republican from Missouri. “These resources are vital for manufacturers to remain competitive in the global market.”

The 11 announced grants include: $1.1 million to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, for the Great Lakes Trade Adjustment Assistance Center; $1.1 million to the University of Missouri, Columbia, for the Mid-America Trade Adjustment Assistance Center; $1.2 million to the MidAtlantic Employers’ Association, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, for the Mid-Atlantic Trade Adjustment Assistance Center; $1.1 million to Applied Strategies International, Ltd., Chicago, Illinois, for the Midwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center; $1 million to the New England Trade Adjustment Assistance Center, Inc., North Billerica, Massachusetts; $989,487 to the Research Foundation of the State University of New York at Binghamton, for the Trade Adjustment Assistance Center serving New York, New Jersey, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; $1.3 million to the Trade Task Group, Seattle, Washington, for the Northwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center; $1.5 million to the University of Colorado at Boulder for the Rocky Mountain Trade Adjustment Assistance Center; $1.2 million to the Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta, Georgia, for the Southeastern Trade Adjustment Assistance Center; $1.2 million to the University of Texas at San Antonio for the Southwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center; and $1.4 million to the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, for the Western Trade Adjustment Assistance Center.

EDA’s Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms Program funds the eleven TAACs across the nation. The TAACs support a wide range of technical, planning, and business recovery projects that help companies and communities adapt to international competition. The recently-announced grants announced represent the second year of a funding cycle running from 2016 to 2021.