§ 2272 — Group Eligibility Requirements

(a) A group of workers (including workers in any agricultural firm or subdivision of an agricultural firm) shall be certified by the Secretary as eligible to apply for adjustment assistance under this part pursuant to a petition filed under section 2271 of this title if the Secretary determines that— (1) a significant number or proportion of the workers in such workers’ firm, or an appropriate subdivision of the firm, have become totally or partially separated, or are threatened to become totally or partially separated; and (i) the sales or production, or both, of such firm or subdivision have decreased absolutely; (ii) imports of articles like or directly competitive with articles produced by such firm or subdivision have increased; and (iii) the increase in imports described in clause (ii) contributed importantly to such workers’ separation or threat of separation and to the decline in the sales or production of such firm or subdivision; or (i) there has been a shift in production by such workers’ firm or subdivision to a foreign country of articles like or directly competitive with articles which are produced by such firm or subdivision; and (I) the country to which the workers’ firm has shifted production of the articles is a party to a free trade agreement with the United States; (II) the country to which the workers’ firm has shifted production of the articles is a beneficiary country under the Andean Trade Preference Act [19 U.S.C. 3201 et seq.], African Growth and Opportunity Act [19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.], or the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act [19 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.]; or (III) there has been or is likely to be an increase in imports of articles that are like or directly competitive with articles which are or were produced by such firm or subdivision. (b) A group of workers (including workers in any agricultural firm or subdivision of an agricultural firm) shall be certified by the Secretary as eligible to apply for trade adjustment assistance benefits under this part pursuant to a petition filed under section 2271 of this title if the Secretary determines that— (1) a significant number or proportion of the workers in the workers’ firm or an appropriate subdivision of the firm have become totally or partially separated, or are threatened to become totally or partially separated; (2) the workers’ firm (or subdivision) is a supplier or downstream producer to a firm (or subdivision) that employed a group of workers who received a certification of eligibility under subsection (a), and such supply or production is related to the article that was the basis for such certification (as defined in subsection (c)(3) and (4)); and (3) either— (A) the workers’ firm is a supplier and the component parts it supplied to the firm (or subdivision) described in paragraph (2) accounted for at least 20 percent of the production or sales of the workers’ firm; or (B) a loss of business by the workers’ firm with the firm (or subdivision) described in paragraph (2) contributed importantly to the workers’ separation or threat of separation determined under paragraph (1). (c) For purposes of this section— (1) The term “contributed importantly” means a cause which is important but not necessarily more important than any other cause. (A) Any firm, or appropriate subdivision of a firm, that engages in exploration or drilling for oil or natural gas shall be considered to be a firm producing oil or natural gas. (B) Any firm, or appropriate subdivision of a firm, that engages in exploration or drilling for oil or natural gas, or otherwise produces oil or natural gas, shall be considered to be producing articles directly competitive with imports of oil and with imports of natural gas. (3) The term “downstream producer” means a firm that performs additional, value-added production processes for a firm or subdivision, including a firm that performs final assembly or finishing, directly for another firm (or subdivision), for articles that were the basis for a certification of eligibility under subsection (a) of a group of workers employed by such other firm, if the certification of eligibility under subsection (a) is based on an increase in imports from, or a shift in production to, Canada or Mexico. (4) The term “supplier” means a firm that produces and supplies directly to another firm (or subdivision) component parts for articles that were the basis for a certification of eligibility under subsection (a) of a group of workers employed by such other firm.