Economic sanctions
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Economic sanctions are commercial and
financial Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...
penalties applied by states or institutions against states, groups, or individuals. Economic sanctions are a form of
coercion Coercion () is compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner by the use of threats, including threats to use force against a party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a desi ...
that attempts to get an actor to change its behavior through disruption in economic exchange. Sanctions can be intended to compel (an attempt to change an actor's behavior) or deterrence (an attempt to stop an actor from certain actions).Haidar, J.I., 2017
Sanctions and Exports Deflection: Evidence from Iran
" Economic Policy (Oxford University Press), April 2017, Vol. 32(90), pp. 319-355.
Sanctions can target an entire country or they can be more narrowly targeted at individuals or groups; this latter form of sanctions are sometimes called "smart sanctions". Prominent forms of economic sanctions include trade barriers, asset freezes,
travel ban A travel ban is one of a variety of mobility restrictions imposed by governments. Bans can be universal or selective. The restrictions can be geographic, imposed by either the originating or destination jurisdiction. They can also be based on indiv ...
s,
arms embargo An arms embargo is a restriction or a set of sanctions that applies either solely to weaponry or also to "dual-use technology." An arms embargo may serve one or more purposes: * to signal disapproval of the behavior of a certain actor * to maintain ...
es, and restrictions on financial transactions. The efficacy of sanctions in achieving intended goals is a subject of debate. Scholars have also considered the policy externalities of sanctions. The humanitarian consequences of country-wide sanctions have been a subject of controversy. As a consequence, since the mid-1990s, United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions have tended to target individuals and entities, in contrast to the country-wide sanctions of earlier decades.


History of sanctions

One of the most comprehensive attempts at an embargo occurred during the Napoleonic Wars of 1803–1815. Aiming to cripple the United Kingdom economically, Emperor
Napoleon I of France Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
in 1806 promulgated the Continental System—which forbade
European nations Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
from trading with the UK. In practice the French Empire could not completely enforce the embargo, which proved as harmful (if not more so) to the continental nations involved as to the British. By the time of the
Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 are a series of international treaties and declarations negotiated at two international peace conferences at The Hague in the Netherlands. Along with the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions were amon ...
, diplomats and legal scholars regularly discussed using coordinated economic pressure to enforce international law. This idea was also included in reform proposals by Latin American and Chinese international lawyers in the years leading up to World War I.


World War I and the Interwar period

Sanctions in the form of blockades were prominent during World War I. Debates about implementing sanctions through international organizations, such as the League of Nations, became prominent after the end of World War I. Leaders saw sanctions as a viable alternative to war. The League Covenant permitted the use of sanctions in five cases: # When Article 10 of the League Covenant is violated # In case of war or threat of war (Article 11) # When a League member does not pay an arbitration award (Article 12) # When a League member goes to war without submitting the dispute to the League Council or League Assembly (Articles 12–15) # When a non-member goes to war against a League member (Article 17) The Abyssinia Crisis in 1935 resulted in League sanctions against Mussolini's Italy under Article 16 of the Covenant. Oil supplies, however, were not stopped, nor the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
closed to Italy, and the conquest proceeded. The sanctions were lifted in 1936 and Italy left the League in 1937. In the lead-up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States imposed severe trade restrictions on Japan to discourage further Japanese conquests in East Asia.


From World War II onwards

After World War II, the League was replaced by the more expansive United Nations (UN) in 1945. Throughout the Cold War, the use of sanctions increased gradually. After the end of the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, there was a major increase in economic sanctions. According to the Global Sanctions Data Base, there have been 1,325 sanctions in the period 1950–2022.


Politics of sanctions

Economic sanctions are used as a tool of
foreign policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...
by many governments. Economic sanctions are usually imposed by a larger country upon a smaller country for one of two reasons: either the latter is a perceived threat to the security of the former nation or that country treats its citizens unfairly. They can be used as a coercive measure for achieving particular policy goals related to trade or for humanitarian violations. Economic sanctions are used as an alternative weapon instead of going to war to achieve desired outcomes. The Global Sanctions Data Base categorizes nine objectives of sanctions: "changing policy, destabilizing regimes, resolving territorial conflicts, fighting terrorism, preventing war, ending war, restoring and promoting human rights, restoring and promoting democracy, and other objectives."


Effectiveness of economic sanctions

According to a study by Neuenkirch and Neumeier, UN economic sanctions had a
statistically significant In statistical hypothesis testing, a result has statistical significance when it is very unlikely to have occurred given the null hypothesis (simply by chance alone). More precisely, a study's defined significance level, denoted by \alpha, is the p ...
impact on targeted states by reducing their GDP growth by an average of 2.3–3.5% per year—and more than 5% per year in the case of comprehensive UN embargoes—with the negative effects typically persisting for a period of ten years. By contrast, unilateral US sanctions had a considerably smaller impact on GDP growth, restricting it by 0.5–0.9% per year, with an average duration of seven years. Imposing sanctions on an opponent also affects the economy of the imposing country to a degree. If import restrictions are promulgated, consumers in the imposing country may have restricted choices of goods. If export restrictions are imposed or if sanctions prohibit companies in the imposing country from trading with the target country, the imposing country may lose markets and investment opportunities to competing countries. Hufbauer, Schott, and Elliot (2008) argue that regime change is the most frequent foreign-policy objective of economic sanctions, accounting for just over 39 percent of cases of their imposition. Hufbauer et al. found that 34 percent of the cases studied were successful. However, when Robert A. Pape examined their study, he found that only 5 of their reported 40 successes were actually effective, reducing the success rate to 4%. In either case, the difficulty and unexpected nuances of measuring the actual success of sanctions in relation to their goals are both increasingly apparent and still under debate. In other words, it is difficult to determine ''why'' a regime or country changes (i.e., whether it was the sanction or inherent instability) and doubly so to measure the full political effect of a given action. Offering an explanation as to why sanctions are still imposed even when they may be marginally effective, British diplomat Jeremy Greenstock suggests sanctions are popular not because they are known to be effective, but because "there is nothing else
o do O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...
between words and military action if you want to bring pressure upon a government". Critics of sanctions like Belgian jurist
Marc Bossuyt Marc, Baron Bossuyt (born 9 January 1944 in Ghent) is a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague and a former judge at the Belgian Constitutional Court. Bossuyt obtained a Dr.iur (LLM) at the University of Ghent in 1968, a ''Cert ...
argue that in nondemocratic regimes, the extent to which this affects political outcomes is contested, because by definition such regimes do not respond as strongly to the popular will. A strong connection has been found between the effectiveness of sanctions and the size of veto players in a government. Veto players represent individual or collective actors whose agreement is required for a change of the status quo, for example, parties in a coalition, or the legislature's check on presidential powers. When sanctions are imposed on a country, it can try to mitigate them by adjusting its economic policy. The size of the veto players determines how many constraints the government will face when trying to change status quo policies, and the larger the size of the veto players, the more difficult it is to find support for new policies, thus making the sanctions more effective. Francesco Giumelli writes that the "set of sanctions ... that many observers would be likely to consider the most persuasive (and effective)", namely, UN sanctions against " central bank assets and sovereign wealth funds", are "of all the types of measures applied ... the one least frequently used". Giumelli also distinguishes between sanctions against international terrorists, in which "the nature of the request is not as important as the constraining aspect", and sanctions imposed in connection with "post-conflict scenarios", which should "include flexible demands and the potential for adaptation if the situation changes". Economic sanctions can be used for achieving domestic and international purposes. Foreign aid suspensions are typically considered as a type of economic sanctions. Previously mentioned work by Hufbauer, Schott, Elliot, and Oegg is a prominent example.
Claas Mertens Claas Mertens (born 2 January 1992) is a German lightweight rower. He won a gold medal at the 2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette with the lightweight men's eight. He also won ten German National Championship titles. In 2018 Merte ...
finds that "suspending aid is more effective than adopting economic sanctions because (1) aid suspensions are economically beneficial for the adopting state, while sanctions are costly, (2) aid suspensions directly affect the targeted government’s budget, (3) market forces undermine sanctions but not aid suspensions, and (4) aid suspensions are less likely to spark adverse behavioral reactions. ..The findings suggest that economic sanctions are less effective than previously thought and that large donor states have a higher chance of achieving political goals through economic coercion."


Criticism

Sanctions have been criticized on humanitarian grounds, as they negatively impact a nation's economy and can also cause collateral damage on ordinary citizens. Peksen implies that sanctions can degenerate human rights in the target country. Some
policy analysts Policy analysis is a technique used in the public administration sub-field of political science to enable civil servants, nonprofit organizations, and others to examine and evaluate the available options to implement the goals of laws and elected ...
believe that imposing trade restrictions only serves to hurt ordinary people as opposed to government elites, and others have likened the practice to siege warfare. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has generally refrained from imposing comprehensive sanctions since the mid-1990s, in part due to the controversy over the efficacy and civilian harms attributed to the sanctions against Iraq. Sanctions can have unintended consequences.


Smart Sanctions

One of the most popular suggestions to combat the humanitarian issues that arise from sanctions is the concept of “smart sanctions”, and a lot of research has been done on this concept also known as targeted sanctions.''Gordon, Joy. “Smart Sanctions Revisited.” Ethics & International Affairs, vol. 25, no. 3, 2011, pp. 315–335., '' The term "smart sanctions" refers to measures like asset freezes, travel bans, and arms embargoes that aim to target responsible parties like political leaders and elites with the goal of avoiding causing widespread collateral damage to innocent civilians and neighboring nations. Though there has been enthusiasm about the concept, as of 2016, the Targeted Sanctions Consortium (TSC) found that targeted sanctions only result in policy goals being met 22% of the time. Smart Sanctions have also not been totally successful in avoiding civilian harm or unintended consequences. For example, arms embargoes can impact the self-defense efforts of those under attack, aviation bans can affect a nation's transportation sector and the jobs of civilians associated with them, and financial sanctions targeting individuals raise due process issues. One example of smart sanctions in practice can be seen with sanctions imposed by the United States on the Russian Federation following the latter's 2014 annexation of Crimea, which were intended to exert pressure on Russia's financial sector.''Ashford, Emma. “Not-So-Smart Sanctions: The Failure of Western Restrictions Against Russia.” Foreign Affairs, vol. 95, no. 1, 2016, pp. 114–23. JSTOR, . Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.'' The sanctions resulted in American credit card companies Visa and MasterCard suspending all transactions of sanctioned Russian banks, effectively canceling the credit cards of ordinary Russian consumers.


Implications for businesses

There is an importance, especially with relation to financial loss, for companies to be aware of embargoes that apply to their intended export or import destinations. Properly preparing products for trade, sometimes referred to as an embargo check, is a difficult and timely process for both importers and exporters. There are many steps that must be taken to ensure that a business entity does not accrue unwanted fines, taxes, or other punitive measures. Common examples of embargo checks include referencing embargo lists, cancelling transactions, and ensuring the validity of a trade entity. This process can become very complicated, especially for countries with changing embargoes. Before better tools became available, many companies relied on spreadsheets and manual processes to keep track of compliance issues. Today, there are software based solutions that automatically handle sanctions and other complications with trade.


Examples


United States sanctions


US Embargo Act of 1807

The United States Embargo of 1807 involved a series of laws passed by the US Congress (1806–1808) during the second term of President Thomas Jefferson. Britain and France were engaged in the War of the Fourth Coalition; the US wanted to remain neutral and to trade with both sides, but both countries objected to American trade with the other. American policy aimed to use the new laws to avoid war and to force both France and Britain to respect American rights. The embargo failed to achieve its aims, and Jefferson repealed the legislation in March 1809.


US embargo of Cuba

The United States embargo against Cuba began on March 14, 1958, during the overthrow of dictator Fulgencio Batista by
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
during the Cuban Revolution. At first, the embargo applied only to arms sales; however, it later expanded to include other imports, eventually extending to almost all trade on February 7, 1962. Referred to by Cuba as ''"el bloqueo"'' (the blockade), the US embargo on Cuba remains one of the longest-standing embargoes in modern history. Few of the United States' allies embraced the embargo, and many have argued it has been ineffective in changing Cuban government behavior. While taking some steps to allow limited economic exchanges with Cuba, American President Barack Obama nevertheless reaffirmed the policy in 2011, stating that without the granting of improved human rights and freedoms by Cuba's current government, the embargo remains "in the national interest of the United States".


Other countries


Russian sanctions

Russia has been known to utilize economic sanctions to achieve its political goals. Russia's focus has been primarily on implementing sanctions against the pro-Western governments of former Soviet Union states. The Kremlin's aim is particularly on states that aspire to join the European Union and NATO, such as Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia. Russia has enacted a law, the
Dima Yakovlev Law The Dima Yakovlev Law (russian: Закон Димы Яковлева), Dima Yakovlev Bill, Dima Yakovlev Act, anti-Magnitsky law, or Law of Scoundrels (officially Federal Law of 28 December 2012 No.272-FZ "On Sanctions for Individuals Violating F ...
, that defines sanctions against US citizens involved in "violations of the human rights and freedoms of Russian citizens". It lists US citizens who are banned from entering Russia.A law on sanctions for individuals violating fundamental human rights and freedoms of Russian citizens has been signed
// Kremlin.ru, 28 December 2012.


Russia sanctions on Ukraine

Viktor Yushchenko, the third president of Ukraine who was elected in 2003, lobbied during his term to gain admission to NATO and the EU. Soon after Yushchenko entered office, Russia demanded Kyiv pay the same rate that it charged Western European states. This quadrupled Ukraine's energy bill overnight. Russia subsequently cut off the supply of natural gas in 2006, causing significant harm to the
Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...
and Russian economies. As the Ukrainian economy began to struggle, Yushchenko's approval ratings dropped significantly; reaching the single digits by the 2010 election; Viktor Yanukovych, who was more supportive of Moscow won the election in 2010 to become the fourth president of Ukraine. After his election, gas prices were reduced substantially.


Russian sanctions on Georgia

The Rose Revolution in Georgia brought Mikheil Saakashvili to power as the third president of the country. Saakashvili wanted to bring Georgia into NATO and the EU and was a strong supporter of the US-led war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Russia would soon implement a number of different sanctions on Georgia, including natural gas price raises through
Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐzˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the larges ...
and wider trade sanctions that impacted the Georgian economy, particularly Georgian exports of wine, citrus fruits, and mineral water. In 2006, Russia banned all imports from Georgia which was able to deal a significant blow to the Georgian economy. Russia also expelled nearly 2,300 Georgians who worked within its borders.


United Nations sanctions

The United Nations issues sanctions by consent of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and/or
General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
in response to major international events, receiving authority to do so under Article 41 of Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. The nature of these sanctions may vary, and include financial, trade, or weaponry restrictions. Motivations can also vary, ranging from humanitarian and environmental concerns to efforts to halt
nuclear proliferation Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations not recognized as " Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Wea ...
. Over two dozen sanctions measures have been implemented by the United Nations since its founding in 1945. Most UNSC sanctions since the mid-1990s have targeted individuals and entities rather than entire governments, a change from the comprehensive trade sanctions of earlier decades. For example, the UNSC maintains lists of individuals indicted for crimes or linked to international terrorism, which raises novel legal questions regarding
due process Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pers ...
. According to a dataset covering the years 1991 to 2013, 95% of UNSC sanction regimes included "sectoral bans" on aviation and/or the import (or export) of arms or raw materials, 75% included "individual/group" sanctions such as asset freezes or restrictions on travel, and just 10% targeted national finances or included measures against central banks, sovereign wealth funds, or foreign investment. The most frequently used UNSC sanction documented in the dataset is an embargo against imported weapons, which applied in 87% of all cases and was directed against non-state actors more often than against governments. Targeted sanctions regimes may contain hundreds of names, a handful, or none at all.


Sanctions on Somalia, 1992

The UN implemented sanctions against Somalia beginning in April 1992, after the overthrow of the
Siad Barre Mohamed Siad Barre ( so, Maxamed Siyaad Barre, Osmanya script: ; ar, محمد سياد بري; c. 1910 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali head of state and general who served as the 3rd president of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 199 ...
regime in 1991 during the Somali Civil War. UNSC Resolution 751 forbade members to sell, finance, or transfer any military equipment to Somalia.


Sanctions on North Korea, 2006

The UNSC passed Resolution 1718 in 2006 in response to a nuclear test that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) conducted in violation of the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The resolution banned the sale of military and luxury goods and froze government assets. Since then, the UN has passed multiple resolutions subsequently expanding sanctions on North Korea. Resolution 2270 from 2016 placed restrictions on transport personnel and vehicles employed by North Korea while also restricting the sale of natural resources and fuel for aircraft. The efficacy of such sanctions has been questioned in light of continued nuclear tests by North Korea in the decade following the 2006 resolution. Professor William Brown of Georgetown University argued that "sanctions don't have much of an impact on an economy that has been essentially bankrupt for a generation".


Sanctions on Libya

On February 26, 2011, the UNSC issued an arms embargo against the Libya through Security Council Resolution 1970 in response to humanitarian abuses occurring in the First Libyan Civil War. The embargo was later extended to mid-2018. Under the embargo, Libya has suffered severe inflation because of increased dependence on the private sector to import goods. The sanctions caused large cuts to health and education, which caused social conditions to decrease. Even though the sanctions were in response to human rights, their effects were limited.


Sanctions on apartheid South Africa

In effort to punish South Africa for its policies of apartheid, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a voluntary international oil-embargo against South Africa on November 20, 1987; that embargo had the support of 130 countries. South Africa, in response, expanded its Sasol production of
synthetic crude Synthetic crude is the output from a bitumen/extra heavy oil upgrader facility used in connection with oil sand production. It may also refer to shale oil, an output from an oil shale pyrolysis. The properties of the synthetic crude depend on the ...
. All United Nations sanctions on South Africa ended over the
Negotiations to end Apartheid The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of bilateral and multi-party negotiations between 1990 and 1993. The negotiations culminated in the passage of a new interim Constitution in 1993, a precursor to the Constitution ...
, Resolution 919 and the
1994 South African election General elections were held in South Africa between 26 and 29 April 1994. The elections were the first in which citizens of all races were allowed to take part, and were therefore also the first held with universal suffrage. The election was c ...
s, in which
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
was elected as the first post-Apartheid president. When asked in 1993 if economic sanctions had helped end apartheid, Mandela replied "Oh, there is no doubt."


Other multilateral sanctions

The United States, Britain, the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
and the Netherlands imposed
sanctions against Japan The was a Japanese name for a series of embargoes against Japan by foreign nations, including the United States of America, Britain, China, and the Dutch. It was also known as the . In 1940, in an effort to discourage Japanese militarism, these ...
in 1940–1941 in response to its
expansionism Expansionism refers to states obtaining greater territory through military empire-building or colonialism. In the classical age of conquest moral justification for territorial expansion at the direct expense of another established polity (who of ...
. Deprived of access to vital oil, iron-ore and steel supplies, Japan started planning for military action to seize the resource-rich Dutch East Indies, which required a preemptive attack on Pearl Harbor, triggering the American entry into the
Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
. In 1973–1974,
OAPEC The Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) is a multi-governmental organization headquartered in Kuwait which coordinates energy policies among oil-producing Arab nations. OAPEC's primary objective is safeguarding the cooperati ...
instigated the
1973 oil crisis The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...
through its
oil embargo An oil embargo is an economic situation wherein entities engage in an embargo to limit the transport of petroleum to or from an area, in order to exact some desired outcome. One commentator states, " oil embargo is not a common commercial practice; ...
against the United States and other industrialized nations that supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War. The results included a sharp rise in
oil prices The price of oil, or the oil price, generally refers to the spot price of a barrel () of benchmark crude oil—a reference price for buyers and sellers of crude oil such as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Brent Crude, Dubai Crude, OPEC Refe ...
and in
OPEC The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, ) is a cartel of countries. Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), it has, since 1965, been headquart ...
revenues, an emergency period of energy rationing, a global economic recession, large-scale conservation efforts, and long-lasting shifts toward natural gas, ethanol,
nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...
and other
alternative energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a Orders of magnitude (time), human timescale. It includes sources such as Solar power, sunlight, wind power, wind, the movement of Hydropo ...
sources. Israel continued to receive Western support, however. In 2010, the European Union made the decision to sanction Iran due to their involvement in their nuclear program. Theresa Papademetriou states the exact restrictions the EU posed on Iran, "prohibition on the provision of insurance, increased restrictions on and notifications needed for transfers of funds to and from Iran, restrictions on the supply of or traffic in technology and equipment to be used in certain oil and gas fields and prohibition of
investment Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing i ...
in such fields, expansion of the list of goods and technology whose supply to Iran is either subject to prior authorization or is completely banned and new visa restrictions.” Also in 2010, the UN Council imposed sanctions on Iran due to their involvement in their nuclear program. These sanctions banned Iran from carrying out tests on their nuclear weapons and imposed an embargo on the transfer of weapons into the country. These sanctions resulted in drastic macroeconomic downturns for the Iranian economy including volatility in GDP, increase in unemployment, and increase in inflation.


Current sanctions


By targeted country

List of sanctioned countries (the below is not an exhaustive list): * Afghanistan sanctions by the US *China by the EU and the US. Sanctions made on
arms embargo An arms embargo is a restriction or a set of sanctions that applies either solely to weaponry or also to "dual-use technology." An arms embargo may serve one or more purposes: * to signal disapproval of the behavior of a certain actor * to maintain ...
, enacted in response to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 **
European Union arms embargo on the People's Republic of China European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...
** Hong Kong, enacted in response to the National Security Law * Cuban embargoes by the US. It covers arms, consumer goods and financial assets, enacted in 1958 *EU, US, Australia, Canada and Norway by Russia since August 2014 on beef, pork, fruit and vegetable produce, poultry, fish, cheese, milk and dairy items. On August 13, 2015, the embargo was expanded to include Albania, Montenegro, Iceland, and Liechtenstein *Gaza Strip by Israel since 2001, under arms blockade since 2007 due to the large number of illicit arms traffic used to wage war *Indonesia by Australia on live cattle due to the alleged cruel slaughter methods in Indonesia *
Iran sanctions There have been a number of sanctions against Iran imposed by a number of countries, especially the United States, and international entities. Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world until it was surpassed by Russia following its inva ...
by the US and its allies, notably by barring nuclear, missile and many military exports to Iran and target investments in: oil, gas and petrochemicals, exports of refined petroleum products, banks, insurance, financial institutions, and shipping. Enacted 1979, increased through the following years and reached its tightest point in 2010. In April 2019 the US threatened to sanction countries that continued to buy oil from Iran after an initial six-month waiver announced in November 2018 had expired. According to the BBC, US sanctions against Iran "have led to a sharp downturn in Iran's economy, pushing the value of its currency to record lows, quadrupling its annual inflation rate, driving away foreign investors, and triggering protests". These sanctions have taken a toll on humanitarian concerns. * Mali by the UNSC in relation to the spiraling security situation and hostilities in breach of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in 2017 * Myanmar sanctions by the EU. Sanctions were imposed against Myanmar due to the worsening state of democracy and human rights infringements * Nicaragua by the UK. Sanctions imposed in 2020 to push the government to respect democratic principles and legal institutions * North Korean sanctions: **international sanctions imposed on North Korea since the Korean War of 1950–1953 eased under the Sunshine Policy of South Korean President
Kim Dae Jung Kim Dae-jung (; ; 6 January 192418 August 2009), was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democracy and human ...
and of US President Bill Clinton. but tightened again in 2010 **by the UN, US and EU on luxury goods (and arms) enacted 2006 ** United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718 (2006) – a reaction to the DPRK's claim of a nuclear test * Russian sanctions: ** by the US. On 2 August 2017, President Donald Trump signed into law the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act that grouped together sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea ** by the EU. In March 2021, Reuters reported that the EU has placed immediate sanctions on both
Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...
and Russia—due to ongoing government sponsored and backed violence against
LGBTIQ+ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is ...
individuals ** international sanctions were also implemented in response to the Russo-Ukrainian War that started in 2014 ** international sanctions during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine * Somali arms embargo by the UN and sanctions by the UK *Sudan by the US in 1997 * Syrian sanctions by the EU and the US on arms and imports of oil * Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus embargo by the UN on consumer goods, enacted since 1994 * Venezuelan sanctions by the US and its allies since 2015. An arms embargo and the selling of assets were banned due to human rights violations, high government corruption, links with drug cartels and electoral rigging in the
2018 Venezuelan presidential election Presidential elections were held in Venezuela on 20 May 2018, with incumbent Nicolás Maduro being declared re-elected for a second six-year term. The original electoral date was scheduled for December 2018 but was subsequently pulled ahead to ...
s. Sanctions imposed by Canada since 2017, Also a
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By targeted individuals

* List of individuals sanctioned during the Venezuelan crisis * List of people and organizations sanctioned during the Russo-Ukrainian War * List of people and organizations sanctioned in relation to human rights violations in Belarus * United Nations sanction imposed by
UN Security Council Resolution 1267 United Nations Security Council resolution 1267 was adopted unanimously on 15 October 1999. After recalling resolutions United Nations Security Council Resolution 1189, 1189 (1998), United Nations Security Council Resolution 1193, 1193 (1998) an ...
in 1999 against all Al-Qaida- and Taliban-associated individuals. The cornerstone of the sanction is a consolidated list of persons maintained by the Security Council. All nations are obliged to freeze bank accounts and other financial instruments controlled by or used for the benefit of anyone on the list.


By sanctioning country or organization

* Australia currently sanctions 9 countries *
India sanctions India has historically and largely not supported Economic sanctions, sanctions imposed by individual countries. The Government of India has largely supported United Nations sanctions. India has also been warned with sanctions, imposed with them, a ...
* United Kingdom currently has sanctions on 27 countries * United Nations has since 1966 established 30 sanctions regimes to countries (such as Southern Rhodesia, South Africa, Yugoslavia and more) and to organizations (such as ISIL, al-Qaida and the Taliban) *
United States sanctions After the failure of the Embargo Act of 1807, the federal government of the United States took little interest in imposing embargoes and economic sanctions against foreign countries until the 20th century. United States trade policy was entirely a ...
and
United States embargoes United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...
**
2002 United States steel tariff On March 5, 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush placed tariffs on imported steel. The tariffs took effect March 20 and were lifted by Bush on December 4, 2003. Research shows that the tariffs were a net positive, reviving many previously shuttered ...
was placed by the United States on steel to protect its industry from foreign producers such as
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and Russia. The World Trade Organization ruled that the tariffs were illegal. The European Union threatened retaliatory tariffs on a range of US goods that would mainly affect swing states. The US government then removed the steel tariffs in early 2004.


By targeted activity

* In response to cyber-attacks on April 1, 2015, President Obama issued an Executive Order establishing the first-ever economic sanctions. The Executive Order was intended to impact individuals and entities ("designees") responsible for cyber-attacks that threaten the national security, foreign policy, economic health, or financial stability of the US. Specifically, the Executive Order authorized the Treasury Department to freeze designees— assets. The European Union implemented their first targeted financial sanctions regarding cyber activity in 2020. * In response to intelligence analysis alleging Russian hacking and interference with the 2016 US elections, President Obama expanded presidential authority to sanction in response to cyber activity that threatens democratic elections. Given that the original order was intended to protect critical infrastructure, it can be argued that the election process should have been included in the original order.


Bilateral trade disputes

* Vietnam as a result of capitalist influences over the 1990s and having imposed sanctions against Cambodia, is accepting of sanctions disposed with accountability. * Brazil introduced sanctions against the US in March 2010. These sanctions were placed because the US government was paying cotton farmers for their products against World Trade Organization rules. The sanctions cover cotton, as well as cars, chewing gum, fruit, and vegetable products. The WTO is currently supervising talks between the states to remove the sanctions.


Former sanctions

* Comecon nations ( CoCom export controls) by the Western bloc * Georgian and Moldovan import ban by Russia on agricultural products, wine and mineral water (2006–2013) * Iraqi sanctions by the US (1990–2003) * Israeli boycott by Arab nations * Italy by the League of Nations in 1935 after the Italian invasion of Abyssinia * Japan (
ABCD line The was a Japanese name for a series of embargoes against Japan by foreign nations, including the United States of America, Britain, China, and the Dutch. It was also known as the . In 1940, in an effort to discourage Japanese militarism, these ...
) by the US, UK, China and the Netherlands in 1940 to discourage militarism * Libya by the UN in 2011 due to mass killings of Libyan protesters/rebels. Ended in 2012 after the overthrow and execution of Gaddafi *India by the UK due to nuclear exports restriction *Macedonia total trade embargo by Greece (1994–1995) *Mali total embargo by ECOWAS in 2012 to force the junta to return power to the civilian government and re-install the National constitution * Nicaraguan embargo by the US * North Vietnam (and then unified Vietnam) trade embargo by the US (1964–1994) *Pakistan by the UK in 2002 on nuclear export restrictions * Palestinian National Authority sanctions by Israel, US and other countries (2006–2007) * Qatar by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt due to Qatar's alleged support for terrorist organizations (2017–2021) * South African sanctions by the international community during Apartheid (see also disinvestment from South Africa) *Serbia by Kosovo's unilaterally declared government in 2011 * Yugoslavian sanctions by the UN in response to the
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
(1992–2001) * Embargo Act of 1807


See also

*
Arms embargo An arms embargo is a restriction or a set of sanctions that applies either solely to weaponry or also to "dual-use technology." An arms embargo may serve one or more purposes: * to signal disapproval of the behavior of a certain actor * to maintain ...
*
Boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
* Economic freedom * Economic warfare * Globalization * International political economy * International sanctions *
Magnitsky legislation Magnitsky legislation refers to laws providing for governmental sanctions against foreign individuals who have committed human rights abuses or been involved in significant corruption. They originated with the United States which passed the firs ...
* Political economy *
Specially Designated National The Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, also known as the SDN List, is a United States government sanctions/embargo measure targeting U.S.-designated terrorists, officials and beneficiaries of certain authoritarian regimes, a ...
* Trade war


References


Further reading

* Ashouri, Mahan "The Role of transnational Private Actors in Ukrain International Flight 752 Crash in Iran Under Economic Sanctions Pressure" (2021

* Brzoska, Michael. "International sanctions before and beyond UN sanctions." ''International Affairs'' 91.6 (2015): 1339–1349. * Caruso, Raul. "The impact of international economic sanctions on trade: An empirical analysis." ''Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy'' 9.2 (2003
online
* Cortright, David, et al. ''The sanctions decade: Assessing UN strategies in the 1990s'' (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000). * Doxey, Margaret P. ''International sanctions in contemporary perspective'' (1987
online
** Doxey, Margaret. "International sanctions: a framework for analysis with special reference to the UN and Southern Africa." ''International organization'' 26.3 (1972): 527–550. ** Doxey, Margaret. "International sanctions in theory and practice." ''Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law'' 15 (1983): 273+
online
* Drezner, Daniel W. ''The Sanctions Paradox''. (Cambridge University Press, 1999) * Escribà-Folch, Abel, and Joseph Wright. "Dealing with tyranny: International sanctions and the survival of authoritarian rulers." ''International studies quarterly'' 54.2 (2010): 335–359
online
* Farrall, Jeremy Matam. ''United Nations sanctions and the rule of law'' (Cambridge University Press, 2007)
online
* Hufbauer, Gary C. ''Economic sanctions and American diplomacy'' (Council on Foreign Relations, 1998
online
* Hufbauer, Gary C., Jeffrey J. Schott, and Kimberley Ann Elliott. '' Economic Sanctions Reconsidered: History and Current Policy'' (Washington DC: Peterson Institute for International Economics, 1990) * Kaempfer, William H. ''International economic sanctions: a public choice perspective'' (1992
online
* Köchler, Hans. ''The United Nations sanctions policy & international law'' (1995
online
* Paul Krugman, Krugman, Paul, "The American Way of Economic war: Is Washington Overusing Its Most Powerful Weapons?" (review of
Henry Farrell Henry Farrell (September 27, 1920 – March 29, 2006) was an American novelist and screenwriter, best known as the author of the renowned gothic horror story '' What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?'', which was made into a film starring Bette ...
and Abraham Newman, ''Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy'', Henry Holt, 2023, 288 pp.), ''
Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...
'', vol. 103, no. 1 (January/February 2024), pp. 150–156. "The .S.dollar is one of the few currencies that almost all major banks will accept, and... the most widely used... As a result, the dollar is the currency that many companies must use... to do international business." (p. 150.) " cal banks facilitating that trade... normally... buy U.S. dollars and then use dollars to buy nother local currency To do so, however, the banks must have access to the U.S. financial system and... follow rules laid out by Washington." (pp. 151–152.) "But there is another, lesser-known reason why the .S.commands overwhelming economic power. Most of the world's
fiber-optic cables A fiber-optic cable, also known as an optical-fiber cable, is an assembly similar to an electrical cable, but containing one or more optical fibers that are used to carry light. The optical fiber elements are typically individually coated with ...
, which carry data and messages around the planet, travel through the United States." (p. 152.) " e U.S. government has installed 'splitters': prisms that divide the beams of light carrying information into two streams. One... goes on to the intended recipients, ... the other goes to the National Security Agency, which then uses high-powered
computation Computation is any type of arithmetic or non-arithmetic calculation that follows a well-defined model (e.g., an algorithm). Mechanical or electronic devices (or, historically, people) that perform computations are known as ''computers''. An es ...
to analyze the data. As a result, the .S.can monitor almost all international communication." (p. 154) This has allowed the U.S. "to effectively cut Iran out of the world financial system... Iran's economy stagnated... Eventually, Tehran agreed to cut back its
nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...
programs in exchange for relief." (pp. 153–154.) " few years ago, American officials... were in a panic about he Chinese company Huawei... which... seemed poised to supply 5G equipment to much of the planet hereby possiblygiv ngChina the power to eavesdrop on the rest of the world – just as the .S.has done.... The .S.learned that Huawei had been dealing surreptitiously with Iran – and therefore violating U.S. sanctions. Then, it... used its special access to information on international bank data to
how How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seidma ...
that uaweis
chief financial officer The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...
, Meng Wanzhou (... the founder's daughter), had committed
bank fraud Bank fraud is the use of potentially illegal means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently posing as a bank or other financial institution. In many ins ...
by falsely telling the British financial services company
HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...
that her company was not doing business with Iran. Canadian authorities, acting on a U.S. request, arrested her... in December 2018. After... almost three years under house arrest... Meng... was allowed to return to China... But by henthe prospects for Chinese dominance of 5G had vanished..." (pp. 154–155.) Farrell and Newman, writes Krugman, "are worried about the possibility of .S. ''Underground Empire''overreach. the .S.weaponizes the dollar against too many countries, they might... band together and adopt alternative methods of international payment. If countries become deeply worried about U.S. spying, they could lay fiber-optic cables that bypass the .S. And if Washington puts too many restrictions on American exports, foreign firms might turn away from U.S. technology." (p. 155.) * Mulder, Nicholas. ''The Economic Weapon: The Rise of Sanctions as a Tool of Modern War'' (2022
excerpt
also se
online review
* Nossal, Kim Richard. "International sanctions as international punishment." ''International Organization'' 43.2 (1989): 301–322. * Royal Institute of International Affairs. ''International Sanctions'' (1935). * * Stevenson, Tom, "First Recourse for Rebels" (review of Nicholas Mulder, ''The Economic Weapon: The Rise of Sanctions as a Tool of Modern War'', Yale, 2022, , 434 pp.), ''
London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published twice monthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of ...
'', vol. 44, no. 6 (24 March 2022), pp. 25–29. "US sanctions are based on monopoly power over a global commons: the world's reserve currency and medium of exchange." (p. 25.) "At some point the US may no longer be in a position to exploit its financial centrality as it does now. For large parts of the world that moment will be cause for celebration." (p. 29.)


External links


Business and Sanctions Consulting Network: List of Countries

The Global Sanctions Data Base (GSDB)Threat and Imposition of Economic Sanctions (TIES) Dataset
ref>

The International Sanctions Termination (IST) dataset

Online Books
{{Authority control International sanctions Non-tariff barriers to trade Embargoes