The Civilizing Influence of Trade Commerce brings people together, not only to trade goods but also to exchange information. Trade liberalization helps to depoliticize economic life, widen human experience, and reduce the threat of war. Peace and free enterprise tend to reinforce each other. When countries restrict foreign trade, they reduce wealth, diminish freedom, and increase the likelihood of conflict. They also block tile natural formation of civil society, which is fostered by the growth of commerce.
Traders find it in their own self-interest to treat their customers with respect.
Trade also fosters the rule of law as people find it useful to accept common rules, respect one another's rights, and be generally tolerant. If economic freedom can be established in a poor country, then growth would be encouraged, and the country would tend eventually to become more democratic on its own. 8 Conclusion Trade policy and human rights policy should not be yoked. Imposing punitive tariffs on China by removing MFN trading status or using other restrictive practices to sanction China for human rights violations will do more harm than good. Keeping people in China and elsewhere in poverty by restricting their human right to trade is neither ethical nor logical.