International trade expert Scott Lincicome will challenge common assumptions about trade in a talk on Jan. 29, including whether imports destroy jobs while tariffs create them and whether globalization caused widespread “deindustrialization” in the U.S. His talk, “What You Think You Know About Trade is Probably Wrong,” will be held at 5:30 p.m. in Statler Hall, room 198. Hosted by Cornell’s Program on Freedom and Free Societies, the talk is free and open to the public. It will also be live streamed; register to participate via Zoom.

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One of the nation’s foremost experts on U.S. trade and industrial policy, Lincicome is an advocate for free trade and increased global economic integration. He will argue that, contrary to the prevailing political rhetoric: tariffs often reduce output and employment, while imports often do the opposite; that trade deficits aren’t inherently bad or good; and that most of the talk about U.S. “deindustrialization” fails to distinguish between factory output and factory jobs.

“Lincicome can explain both the underlying theory and the empirical evidence in support of his views,” said Michael Fontaine, professor of classics in the College of Arts and Sciences. “He brings clarity to a subject often obscured by sloganeering.” Fontaine, director of the Program on Freedom and Free Societies, will introduce Lincicome and moderate the following Q&A.

Read the full story on the College of Arts and Sciences website.