Distributional Effects of Trade and Trade Policy on U.S. Workers, 2026

to Distributional Effects of Trade & Trade Policy updates

General INFORMATION

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.

INFORMATION on investigation events

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

Join Webex

Skill, Wage, and Income

January 22, 2025

1pm–3pm EST

January 15, 2025

Join Webex

Age and Disability

January 29, 2025

1pm–3pm EST

January 22, 2025

Join Webex

Race and Ethnicity

February 5, 2025

1pm–3pm EST

January 29, 2025

Join Webex

Rural - Persistent Poverty

February 10, 2025

1pm–3pm EST

February 5, 2025

Join Webex

Urban - Persistent Poverty

February 12, 2025

1pm–3pm EST

February 5, 2025

Join Webex

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.



Seminar Series

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

Transcript

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

Transcript

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

Transcript

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

Transcript

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

Transcript

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

Transcript

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

Transcript

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

Transcript

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

Transcript

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

Transcript

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

Transcript

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

Transcript



Distributional Effects of Trade and Trade Policy on U.S. Workers, 2022 Report

to Distributional Effects of Trade & Trade Policy updates

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:

Roundtables

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

Race and Ethnicity

Impacts on Underserved Communities, Fresno,CA

In Person/Virtual Hybrid

March 8, 2022

February 22, 2002

Impacts on Underserved Communities

Race and Ethnicity

Virtual*

March 10, 2022

February 24, 2002

Race and Ethnicity

Gender and Orientation

Virtual*

March 14, 2022

February 28, 2002

Gender and Orientation

Disability, Age, and Education

Virtual*

March 22, 2022

March 8, 2022

Disability, Age, and Education

Impacts on Underserved Communities, Detroit, MI

In Person/Virtual Hybrid*

March 30, 2022

March 15, 2022

Impacts on Underserved Communities

Local Impacts on Underserved Communities

Virtual*

April 1, 2022

March 18, 2022

Local Impacts on Underserved Communities


Academic Symposium

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:


Hearing

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