Archive for the ‘Adkerson, Richard C.’ Category

Critics who view emerging markets as a threat to the United States and other developed countries underestimate the power of free trade to create sustainable prosperity worldwide, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold President and CEO Richard C. Adkerson told Thunderbird graduates Dec. 17, 2010, in Glendale, Arizona. “In the United States many, if not most, people view free trade negatively,” Adkerson said during his keynote address. “You see it all the time in the media that free trade causes jobs to leave the United States and go overseas. In truth, if we can create relationships among the countries of the world that allow capital and resources and people to flow to the point where they can do things more efficiently, it creates value for everybody.” He said economic development in countries such as China and India causes dislocations elsewhere as a natural function of markets, but the process spurs innovation and drives growth worldwide. “It forces developed countries to become more competitive,” he said.  “We have to learn how to do things that add more value than things moving overseas.” | Audio Podcast: Richard Adkerson commencement speech (13:47)

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