Embargo

Embargo, edict, decree, or order, usually issued by a government, prohibiting the departure of merchant ships from ports under its control, or prohibiting them from carrying certain types of goods out of the country. An embargo may be levied on both domestic and foreign vessels. Embargoes on foreign ships were formerly levied principally to prevent the spread of information about developments in the country declaring the embargo, or in reprisal for an injury committed by another government and as a means of securing redress for it. Both reasons lost their force, and embargoes on foreign ships declined in importance, chiefly as a result of extraordinary developments in communications in the 19th and 20th centuries. Rapid transmission of news by electronic means made obsolete the spread of information by ship and also facilitated the settlement of disputes through diplomatic channels. The changes in juridical views, which condemned such means of coercion, contributed to the decline in the importance of embargoes on foreign vessels. Embargoes on domestic ships, sometimes called civil embargoes, have been levied because of an existing or anticipated shortage in a vital commodity within a country and for reasons of international policy. An example of an embargo levied for reasons of international policy was the prohibition by the U.S. against most shipments to Cuba. This policy began in 1960.

In late 1973 certain oil-producing states in the Middle East placed an embargo against shipment of oil to countries they regarded as favoring Israel in the ongoing political struggle between these neighboring states. Although the embargo was short-lived, ending in early 1974, it did establish that such group action could be disruptive to world trade and injurious to particular states' economies. Essential traded commodities, such as oil, are in a unique position to be used as political tools, as they have a small number of primary producers. The success of the embargo, though not total, did suggest that such producing cartels may again try to use their natural resources to attain specific goals.

See also Blockade.