Rand Paul Advocates for Peace Through Free Trade

Isn't it time we listened to Ronald Reagan for once?

Ronald Reagan made one of his most famous economic quotes in a 1982 radio interview.

“Free trade serves the cause of economic progress, and it serves the cause of world peace.”

Free trade and peace seem to be two of the traits that the DNC and neocons hate the most. History has shown that free trade among nations is one of the best ways to create prosperity and that it is in all countries’ best interests to pursue free trade.

However, the United States has lost sight of this philosophy in recent decades and has consequently economically alienated itself from many countries. While these actions may have worked in the past, countries are now well-positioned to more quickly adapt and form new economic alliances. The United States risks its economic hegemony every time it imposes sanctions and interferes in global affairs.

We are on the brink of a new World War, and the United States economy is in a serious position due to the country’s soaring debt. These problems won’t be solved by economically alienating ourselves and funding foreign conflicts. The US government needs to advocate for free trade with all countries, even countries like China, Russia, and Iran. The United States could become a true beacon of freedom by cleaning up all of the country's domestic issues, boosting innovation in the economy, and increasingly trading with countries with different political ideologies.

Free Trade Prevents War

Rand Paul recently shared this famous quote from Bastiat, which is very timely given the rise of war, tariffs, and sanctions in recent years.

Many politicians, such as Eisenhower, have warned about the growing risk of the military-industrial complex. While it is necessary to maintain a strong army for national security purposes, the greatest way to maintain peace, prosperity, and freedom is through open trade with all of our neighbors.

Rand Paul has been a long-time supporter of free trade, most notably when he was one of the first Republicans to support the removal of embargos on Cuba. He noted many issues with the existing approach, including the fact that regimes can blame the embargos for their hardship.

At the moment, all eyes are on Iran, China, and Russia as geopolitical tensions soar and countries reengineer their trade. In many cases, the best economic and geopolitical move for the United States is free trade, even if we are not on friendly terms with these countries.

Easing Tensions with Russia and China

The United States has applied over 500 new sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. On top of this, it has been supplying Ukraine with longer-range missiles, which Ukraine has been firing into Russia. These actions not only harm the country’s economic ties but also increase the chance of a global war.

Our relationship with China is by no means as tense, but many politicians still view China as an economic enemy and a massive competitor in our race for global hegemony. Rand Paul has taken a different take, noting that our trade with China has helped elevate the standard of living in the United States.

Free trade can help us improve our economy and it would be a shame for us to lose full access to one of the world’s largest consumer markets. Rand Paul has noted how one of the best ways to fight communism is to trade with other countries.

“ What I heard from my dad and other conservatives was hell no we shouldn’t recognize red China, we shouldn’t trade with them or do anything with them. But a lot of us came to change our minds over time. One way to try to defeat or lessen communism in a way, other than going to war with China, is to trade with them. And in a sense, as we become more intertwined we are less likely to fight.”

While countries like China and Russia are strong economic competitors, who we may have multiple political disagreements with, we can still benefit from engaging in free trade with these countries. Many countries have been moving away from China to diversify their supply chains, which gives China much more incentive to strengthen ties with countries like Russia if we also push away from them economically.

There is also a strong chance that the United States could mitigate the risk of war with China by increasing trade with China. Our relatively strong economic cooperation may be one of the many factors holding things together, as there is still some hope that China and the United States can experience limited economic tensions this term.

One can also see a similar trend when examining the relationship between China and Taiwan. Although geopolitical tensions have been soaring between these two countries, their economies are strongly intertwined, lowering the risk of war.

The situation with Russia is much more complex, as the Biden Administration has been fanning the flames with its recent efforts. However, there is still hope that the new Trump administration can negotiate a swift deal that brings peace. Once this is completed, we should focus on economic cooperation with Russia, to help strengthen both of our economies.

Geopolitical Shift

Ron Paul has noted that the geopolitical climate has changed drastically since Trump was first in office, and countries have rearranged their trade partners. Our sanctions on Russia have not had that strong of an impact, given that Russia and other countries have begun to pivot away from the United States and increasingly cooperate with other countries.

When we isolate ourselves like this, it makes the United States worse off. These moves weaken our trade relationships with other countries, which can harm US companies and our political relationships with these countries. Moreover, if we begin to trade less with China, Russia, or other countries, this could indirectly open the air up to more political conflicts in the future.

This trend could also harm the strength of the US dollar if the US continues to alienate potential trade partners. Many major economies like Russia, India, China, and Brazil have been moving away from trading in US dollars. US dollar hegemony is one of the few factors holding the US economy together, so this is likely one of the most urgent global threats that the United States is currently facing.

Our decision to impose sanctions on Russia and remove them from the SWIFT system has had very terrible impacts on our global hegemony. We are now in a position where we may have to push back harder against these countries and suffer worse from worse relationships with them due to the consequences of economically alienating these countries. It is in our best interest to economically cooperate with major giants like these, as it can help preserve our economic power and reduce geopolitical conflicts.

Administration Shift

It is not surprising that many countries are beginning to pursue BRICS-like models to secure their economic future, especially since our political structure drastically shifts every four years. The Trump administration needs to move quickly to promote economic ties with countries that pose a political threat. He has the opportunity to make it clear that countries with different political ideologies can still trade freely with each other.

Trump has been aggressively pushing back against BRICS countries for attempting to establish an alternative to the US dollar.



In a recent conversation with Trudeau, Trump even joked that Canada should become the 51st state of the USA if it can’t function without tariffs from the United States.

Tariffs will inevitably be a major part of 2025, even if they are just initially used as a negotiation tactic. Hopefully, these tariffs will be limited and targeted to ensure that we balance our economic needs. We can still achieve our economic objectives without drastically alienating major trade partners.

In the long run, our economic relationships with other countries are much more important than any domestic benefits gained through tariffs. Biden has already been imposing new tariffs this year, and it is not ideal for the US economy to go overboard with tariffs next year. Luckily, Trump has proven his strong negotiation tactics in his previous presidency and may be able to scale down some of the proposed tariffs and increase economic cooperation between other countries. We need to restore our political relationship with Russia and China, and free trade can be one crucial tool to facilitate this improvement.

Free trade is the optimal solution and future administrations will hopefully move in this direction in the upcoming terms. The geopolitical landscape has changed drastically since 2016, and pursuing a free trade policy looks like the best step for our country. The best way to fight against rising threats like China, Russia, and other BRICS countries is through free trade and an elevation of the US economy.