Common Ground: Fred Hochberg Talks Trade, Tariffs And More

In 1951, Lillian Vernon started a small mail order company at her kitchen table.

Her son, Fred Hochberg. eventaully took over. As president and COO, he transformed it into what Forbes calls “one of the great success stories of American entrepreneurship.”

Hochberg oversaw a near 40-fold increase in annual revenue, from $5 million in 1975 to almost $200 million 18 years later.

He’s also been acting administrator of the Small Business Administration, and chair and president of the Export-Import Bank.

Hochberg wrote a book: “Trade is Not a Four-Letter Word.” And he served as co-chair of the Human Rights Campaign, America’s largest LGBTQ civil rights advocacy organization, as well as on the Democratic National Committee.

With one foot firmly planted in the business world, and the other in Democratic politics, Hochberg can speak to multiple audiences, from a variety of perspectives.

He’ll do that here, on July 10. That evening, he’ll join Steve Parrish in conversation at the Westport Library’s Common Ground Initative. Hochberg will focus on global trade policy, including President Trump’s tariff strategy and other current events.

Steve Parrish (left) and Fred Hochberg.

The Common Ground Initative is the Library’s forum for public discourse on topical issues. The goal is for positive, production discussions on how to move forward as a civil society, and tackle challenging issues.

Parrish — a longtime Westporter, who as senior vice president of global corporate affairs at Altria Group helped engineer the landmark legislation granting the Food & Drug Administration regulatory authority over the tobacco industry — has known Hochberg for many years.

They met while working on Hillary Clinton’s Senate campaign. When Hochberg was dean of the Milano School of International Affairs at the New School, he asked Parrish to teach there. And they served together on the Export-Import Bank.

Hochberg “brings tremendous experience” to the Common Ground event, Parrish says. “He’ll do a great job explaining how global trade works, and the impact of trade policy on big and small businesses.”

There will be a lot to talk about. July 9 — the day before Hochberg comes to Westport — is the date that nations without a bilateral accord in place will face Trump’s high “Liberation Day” tariffs.

“Fred is a centrist Democrat,” Parrish says. “He’s always been very aware of the importance of working with the other side of the aisle.

“He has the perspective of traditional Republican support for business. He’ll talk about how the landscape is changing — Republicans are now less for free trade, Democrats for more — and what it all means.”

Hochberg will share perspectives from his government, business and academic experience — and look to the future.

Westporters of all political stripes want to understand more about the complexities and nuances of global trade — including tariffs — Parrish says.

“Fred is very engaging and charming — and very smart,” he adds. “This will be a good one.”

(For more information on the free Common Ground event, and to register, click here.)

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