The New England Trade Adjustment Assistance Center (NETAAC) provides federal grant money – up to $150,000 – to companies in all six New England states that have experienced recent declines in sales and employment, due at least in part to increasing imports in the region. The grants help pay for consulting services designed to help the firms become more competitive.
Director Lisa McHatton, who has been with the Lowell, Mass.-based agency since 1987, recently discussed NETAAC’s mission with Providence Business News.
PBN: Tell us about your agency and its mission.
MCHATTON: NETAAC is a government-funded nonprofit that offers cost-shared assistance to import-impacted manufacturers through a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce. NETAAC’s goal is to help New England manufacturers increase profitability and retain employees while competing against imported products. …
NETAAC’s board of directors is active throughout New England, with members from both the private and public sector. NETAAC’s president, David Darlington, is from Rhode Island and is very active in the state. … Long-term member Maureen Mezei is the international trade director of the R.I. Economic Development Corporation.
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PBN: At this point, how are foreign imports affecting New England companies?
MCHATTON: New England has approximately 23,000 small to medium-sized manufacturers. Massachusetts and Connecticut are the largest manufacturing states and represent NETAAC’s largest client base. However, we are now seeing an increase in Maine and New Hampshire firms, especially in the wood-products industry, that are experiencing severe competition from Canada.
Even in this weak economy imports are still increasing, just at a lesser rate. This is due to consumers purchasing fewer products; sales are down for most companies.
PBN: Some manufacturers are saying it’s time for the federal government to change trade policies. Can you comment?
Revising tax breaks for those companies that [send] U.S. jobs offshore would also help domestic employment.
PBN: How many Rhode Island companies have applied for assistance?
MCHATTON: Over the last 20 years, NETAAC has awarded $5.5 million in assistance to 72 Rhode Island firms, employing 5,950 people.
PBN: What sort of companies have you helped in Rhode Island?
MCHATTON: Small to medium-sized manufacturers with annual sales averaging $5 million, primarily in the jewelry industry; however, we’ve helped firms from motors and metal products to decorative-giftware items.
PBN: Is there any way to measure how NETAAC grant money has helped New England companies?
MCHATTON: NETAAC clients typically average 45 percent growth in productivity within two years of completing the program.
The Urban Institute performed an independent study of the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms program, concluding that it was highly successful, producing more resilient firms and increasing sales and employment. It was also estimated that every federal dollar invested in this program offered a return on taxpayer’s investment of over 300 percent.
PBN: How does a company apply for a grant?
MCHATTON: Manufacturers who have experienced a 5 percent decline in sales or production and a reduction – or anticipate a reduction – in employment (or hours) over a two or three-year period may be eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms. •
