Embargo is an order designed to stop the movement of goods. An embargo, issued by the government of one country, may restrict or suspend trade between that country and another nation.
A government may impose an embargo to hamper the military efforts of another government. For example, the United States prohibits the export of weapons to countries that sponsor terrorism. Sometimes a government imposes an embargo to express its disapproval of actions taken by another government. The embargo is intended to pressure the offending government to change its actions. For example, the most significant embargo in U.S. history was the one authorized by Congress in 1807 to stop British and French vessels from interfering with U.S. trade (see Embargo Act).
In 1990, the United Nations imposed an embargo against Iraq soon after Iraq had invaded Kuwait. As a result of the embargo, trade with Iraq fell sharply. The embargo remained in place until 2003, after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi government.
See also Sanctions, Economic.
