Trading with people makes you richer, not poorer. Only if the deal is beneficial to you. If the parties are not interdependent, there is every incentive for on

Trading with people makes you richer, not poorer. Only if the deal is beneficial to you. If the parties are not interdependent, there is every incentive for one party to maximze their gain at the expense of the other. There's plenty of examples to be found. Were the Native Americans richer after they traded their land to the colonists? Are African nations really richer after they traded their oil reserves to Western corporations?