“Trade Adjustment Assistance was supposed to help people whose jobs were threatened by overseas competition, but Congress eroded its support starting in the 1980s.  For decades, policymakers have grasped that public support for trade was fragile. The benefits were obvious — economic growth, export opportunities for American companies and lower-priced goods for consumers. But workers in factories were certain to lose their jobs …. In 1962, Congress passed the Trade Expansion Act …. The program, known as Trade Adjustment Assistance, was expanded in 1974. By the end of that decade, the federal government was spending $1.6 billion a year to provide training and additional unemployment aid to 500,000 workers, most of them in the auto industry …. The election of Ronald Reagan as president in 1980 brought suspicion against government assistance for individuals. Spending shrank …. Existing government programs designed to cushion the effects of economic dislocation are, for the most part, out of date, ad hoc and inadequate …. President Trump’s election and re-election have resonated in part as a rebuke of international trade. He has drastically increased tariffs …. One of the problems in the United States is that we’ve never made a full commitment to labor market adjustment programs.” “Trade Adjustment Assistance.” New York Times (Sept. 1, 2025).