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The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) is conducting an investigation for the purpose of providing the first of five reports on the potential distributional effects of goods and services trade and trade policy on U.S. workers and underrepresented and underserved communities. This first investigation, Distributional Effects of Trade and Trade Policy on U.S. Workers, 2026, will build on information presented in the 2022 USITC report Distributional Effects of Trade and Trade Policy on U.S. Workers (Inv. No. 332-587). The investigation was requested by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in a letter received on January 25, 2023. The Commission expects to submit its first report to the USTR by January 20, 2026.
As part of this investigation, the Commission will hold several public events, including community-based open conversations and a symposium. The Commission will also host virtual seminar series in 2023 and 2024.
This page is a one-stop resource for information about the investigation and how you can participate in or observe public information-gathering activities.
Information will be updated as it becomes available, so please check back often.
- Request Letter [PDF]
- Institution Notice [PDF]
- Institution News Release
- WebEx Tips for Commission Proceedings [PDF]
COMMUNITY-BASED OPEN CONVERSATIONS
The USITC plans to hold six thematic/virtual roundtables, followed by in-person geographic roundtables and other in-person events in and around five locations. Those wishing to participate in these events should register by emailing DE@usitc.gov.
Details for the six virtual roundtables are as follows:
Theme |
Date |
Proposed Time |
Registration Deadline |
WebEx Link |
Gender and Gender Identity |
January 15, 2025 |
1pm–3pm EST |
January 8, 2025 |
|
Skill, Wage, and Income |
January 22, 2025 |
1pm–3pm EST |
January 15, 2025 |
|
Age and Disability |
January 29, 2025 |
1pm–3pm EST |
January 22, 2025 |
|
Race and Ethnicity |
February 5, 2025 |
1pm–3pm EST |
January 29, 2025 |
|
Rural - Persistent Poverty |
February 10, 2025 |
1pm–3pm EST |
February 5, 2025 |
|
Urban - Persistent Poverty |
February 12, 2025 |
1pm–3pm EST |
February 5, 2025 |
The USITC is also planning to hold in-person community conversations in the vicinity of five U.S. cities during March-May 2025:
- Tulsa – March 2025
- El Paso – April 2025
- Seattle – April 2025
- Youngstown – May 2025
- Atlanta – May 2025
Information regarding these events, and other in-person and virtual events which may be held during October 2024-May 2025, will be posted as it becomes available.
Additional information regarding these events can be found in the Federal Register Notice - Notice of scheduling of community conversations and a symposium. Questions regarding the format of these events and additional ways to be participate can also be directed to DE@usitc.gov.
SYMPOSIUM
The Commission will hold an academic symposium in conjunction with this investigation beginning at 9:00 a.m. EST on June 5, 2025. Persons interested either in presenting work (published or ongoing) or serving on a panel discussion at the symposium should submit their request by emailing DE@usitc.gov.
Requests to participate in the academic symposium should include the participant’s background on research related to analyzing the distributional effects of trade and trade policy on U.S. workers and underrepresented and underserved communities and be emailed by 5:15 p.m. on April 15, 2025.
WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS
In lieu of or in addition to participating in events related to this investigation, interested persons are invited to file written submissions concerning this investigation. All written submissions should be addressed to the Secretary, and should be received no later than 5:15 p.m. on July 11, 2025. More information on the procedures for written submissions as they pertain to this investigation can be found at Federal Register Notice - Notice of scheduling of community conversations and a symposium.
The Commission has hosted two virtual seminar series at which invited researchers have presented ongoing or recently completed work examining the potential distributional effects of goods and services trade and trade policy on U.S. workers and underrepresented and underserved communities.
The following papers were presented during the Commission's July 2024 seminar series:
Seminar Date |
Seminar Time |
Paper Title, Presenter, and Discussant |
Transcript |
Monday, July 15, 2024 |
10:00 AM-11:30 AM |
Seminar 1: "Gender-Segmented Labor Markets and Trade Shocks" Presenter: Raymond Robertson, Texas A&M University (With Carlos Góes and Gladys Lopez-Acevedo) Discussant: Tamara Gurevich, USITC |
|
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
|
10:00 AM-11:30 AM
|
Seminar 2: "Racial and Ethnic Inequality and the China Shock" Presenter: Lindsay Oldenski, Georgetown University (With Lisa B. Kahn and Geunyong Park) Discussant: Saad Ahmad, USITC |
|
Tuesday, July 16, 2024 |
1:00 PM-2:30 PM
|
Seminar 3: "Organized Labor When Things Go South: Unions and the Labor Market Consequences of NAFTA" Presenter: John Lopresti, William & Mary (With Anca D. Cristea) Discussant: Karen Thome, USITC |
|
Wednesday, July 17, 2024 |
9:00 AM-10:30 AM |
Seminar 4: "Service Imports, Workforce Composition, and Firm Performance: Evidence from Finnish Microdata" Presenter: Andrea Ariu, Geneva School of Economics and Management (With J. Bradford Jensen, Katariina Nilsson Hakkala, and Saara Tamminen) Discussant: Junie Joseph, USITC |
|
Thursday, July 18, 2024
|
10:00 AM-11:30 AM |
Seminar 5: "Escaping the Losses from Trade: The Impact of Heterogeneity and Skill Acquisition" Presenter: Ricardo Reyes-Heroles, Federal Reserve Board (With Axelle Ferriere, and Gaston Navarro) Discussant: Tricia Mueller, USITC |
|
Monday, August 5, 2024 |
12:00 PM-1:30 PM |
Seminar 6: "New Evidence on the Effects of Services Trade at the Worker Level" Presenter: Alex Jaax and Elisabeth Van Lieshout, OECD Discussant: Tamar Khachaturian, USITC |
The following papers were presented during the Commission's October 2023 seminar series:
Seminar Date |
Seminar Time |
Paper Title, Presenter, and Discussant |
Transcript |
Monday, October 16, 2023 |
9:30 AM-11:00 AM |
Seminar 1: "Slicing the Pie: Quantifying the Aggregate and Distributional Effects of Trade" Presenter: Simon Galle, BI Norwegian Business School (With Andrés Rodríguez-Clare and Moises Yi) Discussant: Saad Ahmad, USITC |
|
Monday, November 13, 2023 |
10:00 AM-11:30 AM |
Seminar 2: "Trading Places: Mobility Responses of Native and Foreign-Born Adults to the China Trade Shock" Presenter: Gordon Hanson, Harvard University (With David Autor and David Dorn) Discussant: Tamara Gurevich, USITC |
|
Tuesday, October 17, 2023 |
1:30 PM-3:00 PM |
Seminar 3: "A Sorted Tale of Globalization: White Collar Jobs and the Rise of Service Offshoring" Presenter: Runjuan Liu, University of Alberta (With Daniel Trefler) Discussant: Sarah Oliver, USITC |
|
Wednesday, October 18, 2023 |
10:00 AM-11:30 AM |
Seminar 4: "Household Responses to Trade Shocks" Presenter: Peter Levell, Institute for Fiscal Studies (With Aitor Irastorza-Fadrique and Matthias Parey) Discussant: Tyler Daun, USITC |
|
Wednesday, October 18, 2023 |
1:30 PM-3:00 PM |
Seminar 5: “The Effects of a Trade Shock on Gender-Specific Labor Market Outcomes in Brazil" Presenter: Laura Connolly, Michigan Technological University Discussant: Stephanie Fortune-Taylor, USITC |
|
Thursday, November 16, 2023 |
10:00 AM-11:30 AM |
Seminar 6: “Trade Openness and Income Inequality: New Empirical Evidence” Presenter: Florian Dorn, ifo Institute (with Clemens Fuest and Niklas Potrafke) Discussants: Tamar Khachaturian and Ross Jestrab, USITC |
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On November 14, 2022, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) released a report cataloging information on the distributional effects of trade and trade policy on underrepresented and underserved communities. The investigation, Distributional Effects of Trade and Trade Policy on U.S. Workers (Inv. No. 332-587), was requested by the U.S. Trade Representative in a letter received on October 14, 2021. As requested, the USITC gathered information through roundtable discussions among representatives of underrepresented or underserved communities, a symposium focused on academic and similar research on the distributional effects of trade and trade policy, and a review of economic literature on this topic. The Commission also accepted written submissions and conducted a public hearing in connection with the investigation. Links to key documents related to this investigation, including the report, are provided below:
- Institution Notice [PDF]
- Public Events Notice [PDF]
- Institution News Release
- Public Events News Release
- USITC Publication 5374 - Distributional Effects of Trade and Trade Policy on U.S. Workers, Inv. 332-587 [PDF]
The USITC held seven roundtable discussions as part of this investigation between March 1 and April 1, 2022. Information about these roundtables and links to roundtable transcripts are provided below:
Theme |
Format |
Date of Roundtable |
Participation Registration Deadline |
Transcript |
Race and Ethnicity |
Virtual |
March 1, 2022 |
February 15, 2022 |
|
Impacts on Underserved Communities, Fresno,CA |
In Person/Virtual Hybrid |
March 8, 2022 |
February 22, 2002 |
|
Race and Ethnicity |
Virtual* |
March 10, 2022 |
February 24, 2002 |
|
Gender and Orientation |
Virtual* |
March 14, 2022 |
February 28, 2002 |
|
Disability, Age, and Education |
Virtual* |
March 22, 2022 |
March 8, 2022 |
|
Impacts on Underserved Communities, Detroit, MI |
In Person/Virtual Hybrid* |
March 30, 2022 |
March 15, 2022 |
|
Local Impacts on Underserved Communities |
Virtual* |
April 1, 2022 |
March 18, 2022 |
The Commission conducted an academic symposium focused on academic or similar research on the distributional effects of trade and trade policy on underrepresented and underserved communities on April 5–6, 2022. Links to key documents are provided below:
- Agenda for Academic Symposium
- Academic Symposium - Day 1 Presentation Slides
- Academic Symposium - Day 2 Presentation Slides
- Academic Symposium - Day 1 Transcripts
- Academic Symposium - Day 2 Transcripts
A public hearing in connection with this investigation was held online videoconferencing platform, beginning at 9:30 am on April 19, 2022. The hearing transcript is available at: Distributional Effects Hearing Transcript