This study examines post war U.S. economic policies, focusing on industrial adjustment policies related to trade frictions. In particular, Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) policies are reviewed from a historical perspective, from their introduction in 1962 through to the present. From the view of this study, TAA is interpreted as a sort of industrial adjustment policy since it became a means to cope with industrial decline, protectionism under the trade frictions, strengthening competitiveness and relocation of resources to other promising industries. TAA programs offered income support, job training and financial help for relocation to dislocated workers, and financial loan and technical assistance to firms, etc. The findings are as follows. Firstly, it is surprising that TAA policies continued over 50 years, while undergoing changes and transition, even if its legitimacy sometimes came into question. Its scope included not only the 'injury' (e.g. job loss) sustained by the surge in imports but also the 'injury' by the shifting of production abroad. Considering that the U.S. economy has been involved increasingly to the global economy in both trade and direct investment, this is understandable. In addition, the policies related to the TAA such as employment policies and trade policies were also incorporated within TAA. Secondly, although the TAA policies were established as a sort of industrial adjustment policies, the degree of government assistance was not so high in proportion to the U.S. economy. The Americans placed reliance rather on market mechanism and 'self-help' culture. TAA certifications peaked in the latter half of the 1970s and 1980 and the main industries were non-rubber shoes, textile and apparel, steel, automobile and electronics. But in aggregate, the budget scale and the number of users were not so considerable. Regarding the interaction between these economic policies and the market mechanism, further investigation should be conducted.
