Civil Discourse Forum: Are Tariffs Just?

Fri, April 10, 2026

11:15 am - 12:30 pm

Thompson Library, 165

Recent policies involving tariffs raise questions of domestic and global justice. For example: Are tariffs good for Americans? How are the benefits and burdens distributed across states and citizens? How should the U.S. weigh the economic interests of its citizens against the interests of other stakeholders? Join the Center for Ethics and Human Values in a student-moderated discussion featuring two guest speakers presenting different viewpoints on these issues.

This student-moderated discussion is part of CEHV's "Civil Discourse Forums" series. Forum topics are selected by our undergraduate Civil Discourse Fellows trained in the 4Cs of civil discourse (Be Curious, Be Charitable, Be Conscientious, Be Constructive).

Speakers

Alex Durante

Alex Durante is a Senior Economist at the Tax Foundation, working on federal tax policy and model development. He worked as a research assistant for three years at the Federal Reserve Board on a household survey, where he coauthored reports on the “Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households.” From 2019 through 2020, he served as a staff economist on the Council of Economic Advisers, working primarily on trade policy and contributing economic analysis to the “Economic Report to the President.” He holds a BS in Economics from The College of New Jersey and an MS in Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University.

Mihir Torsekar

Mihir Torsekar is a Senior Economist at the Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA), where his research focuses on international trade, industrial competitiveness, and national security. Before joining CPA, he spent 12 years as an international trade analyst at the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC). A Toledo native, Mihir studied economics at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and completed a fellowship at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus with the Legislative Service Commission after college. He earned graduate degrees in Economics and Public Policy from the school up north — but remains a Buckeye at heart. His work has been published in the Financial Times, the New York Times, and by the Brookings Institution.

Moderators

Carissa Lumby

Carissa is a senior studying psychology and political science with a minor in Science and Engineering in the Public Interest, on a pre-law track. She will be attending Loyola University Chicago School of Law next year. She is the Co-Founder of Civil Alliance, a pre-law organization that partners with the Legal Aid Society of Southeast and Central Ohio to promote civic engagement and access to justice. Outside of school, she worked as a Sustainability Assistant at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, where she focused on advancing environmentally responsible practices.

Rishika Rohatgi

Rishika is a senior Morrill Scholar studying Finance and Economics, with a minor in Psychology. On campus, she is a member of Fisher’s 28th Honors Cohort, Buckeye Leadership Fellows, and serves as Vice President of Human Capital for the Buckeye Undergraduate Consulting Club (BUCC). Rishika is passionate about mental health awareness and advocated for mental health infrastructure reform as a youth board member to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). In the past, she has worked for the Keenan Center of Entrepreneurship, Emerson Climate Technologies, and EY-Parthenon.

CEHV's Civil Discourse for Citizenship initiative is pursued with generous support from the Derrow Family Foundation and in partnership with Ohio State's Listen.Learn.Discuss Initiative.