The article explores how trade experience in a country can lead to new trade opportunities with other countries, looking at factors like geography and politics. By studying ancient trade connections between former colonies and their colonizers, the researchers found that former colonies tend to trade more with countries that are closer geographically or have stronger trade ties with their former colonizer. They also discovered that the types of products former colonies export and import are influenced by how close they are to their trade partners or their level of economic integration. These findings support the idea that the way countries trade with each other affects the overall distribution of trade flows globally.