United States Commerce Secretary Gary Locke on Monday announced $1.7 million in US Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant funds to the Western Trade Adjustment Assistance Center (TAAC), which serves the states of Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada, to help the region adjust to increasing competition in the global marketplace and create jobs to bolster the local economy.Â
“The Obama administration is committed to providing communities with the resources they need to foster job creation and business growth,” Locke said. “This grant to the Western TAAC will help create jobs and strengthen the competitiveness of local companies by providing funding for improvement projects in areas like manufacturing, information technology and market development.”
EDA’s Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms program funds 11 Trade Adjustment Assistance Centers across the nation. TAACs facilitate projects aimed at boosting US firms’ competitiveness, and in turn, creating and retaining jobs.
Grants under the program can be used to support a wide range of technical, planning, and infrastructure projects to help communities adapt to international competition and diversify their economies.
Earlier this year, President Obama unveiled his National Export Initiative, an effort to help U.S. firms sell their goods and services abroad with a goal of doubling U.S. exports over the next five years in support of 2 million American jobs.
