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A trade embargo is a political strategy where one country prohibits its citizens from doing business with another country. It can be used to force compliance with laws or treaties, and multiple countries may impose it. The US trade embargo with Cuba is an example. Violating a trade embargo is illegal, but aid can still be provided during emergencies.
A trade embargo is a political move by one country against another. In general, the country imposing the embargo will prohibit most or all people in its country from doing business with the country against which it is imposed. It can also mean that citizens of the imposing country are prohibited from visiting the forbidden country. In essence, a trade embargo is a strategy to force another country to do something or refrain from doing something.
Some trade embargoes may be intended to punish a government that fails to comply with laws, treaties or agreements. Sometimes they are called “economic sanctions”. It is one of the means by which a country can compel others to cooperate under international law.
Perhaps one of the most famous trade embargoes of recent times is the one the United States maintains with Cuba. The embargo was established in the hope that banning trade with Cuba would weaken the country’s economy to the point of overthrowing Fidel Castro and establishing a democratic government. Indeed, the law banning trade with Cuba was renamed the Cuban Democracy Act in 1992, even though the initial embargo started in 1962.
Under the terms of the Cuban Democracy Act, the United States does not do business with Cuba and does not allow Cuban investors to spend money in the United States. Visiting Cuba means traveling illegally or obtaining a special license for a visit. Political visitors to the United States are accountable for the money they spend in Cuba and may even be limited to a certain amount of spending per day. It is not permitted to purchase items from Cuba or send money to Cuban family and friends. Although the Cuban economy has been weakened by the decades-long US trade embargo, it shows no signs of democratic governance.
In the United States, participating in a secondary trade embargo is illegal. This occurs when a country tries to force a company’s relationship with a third country. An example of this could be a decision by the United States to pressure businesses not to trade with Israel because Israel has established economic sanctions with any Arab country, or alternatively, for the United States to force businesses not to trade with the country with which Israel has cut off trade. Pressuring businesses to form secondary trade embargoes is not only illegal, it needs to be reported.
This does not mean that a trade embargo cannot be established by more than one country. Indeed, a country that violates international law can have several countries impose economic sanctions on it. A trade embargo is more likely to achieve its ends if multiple countries sever financial relations with the country.
According to most laws in most countries, there are special times when a trade embargo can be violated. A country can still offer help or aid if a natural disaster strikes, or it can sponsor the efforts of organizations like the Red Cross to help get assistance to the poorest or those in need of medical care. However, when there is a trade embargo, a country will never hand over money to another country’s government. Instead, they will fund humanitarian efforts that reach people directly, as there is often question whether giving money to a government will ever reach or benefit its citizens.
