A firm must first be certified as "trade impacted" by the U.S. Department of Commerce, before it can receive assistance from Great Lakes TAAC.

Our Outreach Team makes applying for certification as easy as possible. We prepare and submit the documents and there is no fee for any part of the application process.

Eligibility Requirements:
Must be a manufacturer with wholly owned subsidiary status in Michigan, Indiana or Ohio and have been in business at least two years.

As evidence of distress caused by imports, the US Department of Commerce requires:

1. A 5% decline in sales dollars or production units in the past 12 months when compared with the preceding 12 months. Alternatively, a firm can show a sales decline for a period of less than 12 months, but at least 6 months, compared to the same period a year prior.
2. A loss of 5% (or 50 employees if a very large firm) of its work force during the same time period used for the sales decline.
3. Some customers of the manufacturer are purchasing imported products in direct replacement of products produced by the firm, and the customers are willing to state this to the Great Lakes TAA Center staff.
4. U. S. Department of Commerce import statistics support the claim that the importation of this product has increased during the past year. (The Trade Adjustment Assistance Center will determine this.)

Data needed from the company:

• Sales by month for last 30 months
• Employee headcount by month for last 30 months
  from your state unemployment insurance quarterly reports, which should also be included (only the summary page, which lists headcount by month, is needed from each report)
• Customer information - 4 major customers with contact info and sales volumes for each of the last 2 years
  GLTAAC must contact 3; time period for sales data will need to be the same as the period used for the sales and employee info in the Petition
• Financials for the last 2 FYs and most recent interims available
  income statements and balance sheets - from accountant for FY; internals for interim
• Descriptive summary info about the firm
  ownership, managers and directors, products and markets, plant locations, related firms, recent changes

GLTAAC staff is adept at helping impacted companies identify their qualification "path" amongst the variety of eligibility options. Contact us today to discuss your firm's situation: toll free at 1-877-877-5439 or gltaac@umich.edu.

GLTAAC assures that all information will be treated with the strictest confidentiality and according to federal guidelines for confidential business information. All proprietary and financial information is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.