WASHINGTON – About 200 workers laid off earlier this month by Great Northern Paper in Millinocket will be eligible for federal retraining assistance, members of Maine’s congressional delegation announced.

U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins and U.S. Rep. John Baldacci contacted the U.S. Department of Labor to support the workers’ petition for federal Trade Adjustment Assistance.

TAA is provided when the U.S. Labor Department confirms that foreign competition played a meaningful role in the loss of jobs. It is believed that increased imports of comparable products have contributed to the layoffs at Great Northern Paper.

Once certified, TAA benefits include extended unemployment compensation, as well as job retraining and employment placement services. Assistance to meet transportation, child care and other needs also may be made available.

“The Labor Department has acted on this petition in less than two weeks, and we appreciate the department’s sensitivity to the needs of workers at Great Northern,” said Snowe and Collins in a joint news release.