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embargo

 
Dictionary: em·bar·go   (ĕm-bär') pronunciation
n., pl., -goes.
  1. A government order prohibiting the movement of merchant ships into or out of its ports.
  2. A prohibition by a government on certain or all trade with a foreign nation.
  3. A prohibition; a ban: an embargo on criticism.
tr.v., -goed, -go·ing, -goes.
To impose an embargo on.

[Spanish, from embargar, to impede, from Vulgar Latin *imbarricāre, to barricade : Latin in-, in; see en-1 + Vulgar Latin *barricāre, to barricade (from *barrīca, barrel, barrier , from *barra, bar, barrier).]


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Legal action by a government or group of governments restricting the departure of vessels or movement of goods from some or all locations to one or more countries. A trade embargo is a prohibition on exports to one or more countries. A strategic embargo restricts only the sale of goods that make a direct and specific contribution to a country's military power; similarly, an oil embargo prohibits only the export of oil. Broad embargoes often allow the export of certain goods (e.g., medicines or foodstuffs) to continue for humanitarian purposes, and most multilateral embargoes include escape clauses that specify a limited set of conditions under which exporters may be exempt from their prohibitions. An embargo is a tool of economic warfare that may be employed for a variety of political purposes, including demonstrating resolve, sending a political signal, retaliating for another country's actions, compelling a country to change its behaviour, deterring it from engaging in undesired activities, and weakening its military capability.

For more information on embargo, visit Britannica.com.

Government prohibition against the shipment of certain goods to another country. An embargo is most common during wartime, but is sometimes applied for economic reasons as well. For instance, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries placed an embargo on the shipment of oil to the West in the early 1970s to protest Israeli policies and to raise the price of petroleum.

Antonyms: embargo
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n

Definition: prohibition
Antonyms: allowance


n. pl. -oes 1. an official ban on trade or other commercial activity with a particular country: an embargo on grain sales | the oil embargo of 1973.

2. an official prohibition on any activity.

3. an order of a state forbidding foreign ships to enter, or any ships to leave, its ports.

v. -oes, -oed

1. (usually be embargoed) impose an official ban on (trade or a country or commodity): the country has been virtually embargoed by most of the noncommunist world.

2. officially ban the publication of: documents of national security importance are routinely embargoed.

3. archaic seize (a ship or goods) for state service.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

 
embargo (ĕmbär'), prohibition by a country of the departure of ships or certain types of goods from its ports. Instances of confining all domestic ships to port are rare, and the Embargo Act of 1807 is the sole example of this in American history. The detention of foreign vessels has occurred more often, either as an act of reprisal designed to coerce diplomatic redress, or in contemplation of war with the country to which the vessels belonged. Embargoes on goods, however, are far more common. Although an embargo can cripple a nation's economy, the use of an embargo alone has typically failed to achieve the goal its imposition was intended to secure.

The United States has used embargoes for both economic and strategic purposes. An example of the former was the prohibition of gold bullion exports in 1933, while the latter is seen in the embargo placed on certain war materials in 1940. An embargo may also be used as a political device. Thus, in 1912 the president was empowered to forbid the export of munitions to Latin America. The Neutrality Act of 1936 gave the president a similar power with regard to warring nations anywhere.

Embargoes were authorized as a form of sanction by the Covenant of the League of Nations, and were applied against Paraguay in 1934 in the Chaco dispute (see Gran Chaco) with Bolivia, and against Italy for its invasion of Ethiopia (1935-36). Article 41 of the United Nations Charter permits embargoes in cases of military aggression, and during the Korean War, the United Nations called upon its members to refrain from sending arms and strategic materials to territory controlled by the North Koreans and Chinese.

In 1960, the United States imposed an embargo of all goods, excluding food and medicine, on Cuba, and in 1962 the Organization of American States, amid great controversy, established its own Cuban trade embargo (since abandoned). Since the 1970s, economic sanctions of this sort have increasingly been used by the United States and the United Nations against nations that disturb peaceful relations, such as Iraq (imposed in 1990; exemption to sell oil in order to buy food and medicine granted in 1996) or Yugoslavia (imposed in 1992; eased in 1995 with removal tied to compliance with the Dayton Accords; new embargoes imposed by NATO during the Kosovo crisis in 1999); or against nations that have maintained white minority governments, such as Rhodesia (in the 1970s) or South Africa (in the 1980s).


Law Encyclopedia: Embargo
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This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

A proclamation or order of government, usually issued in time of war or threatened hostilities, prohibiting the departure of ships or goods from some or all ports until further order. Government order prohibiting commercial trade with individuals or businesses of other specified nations. Legal prohibition on commerce.

The temporary or permanent sequestration of the property of individuals for the purposes of a government, e.g., to obtain vessels for the transport of troops, the owners being reimbursed for this forced service.

Economics Dictionary: embargo
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A governmental restriction on trade for political purposes. The objective is to put pressure on other governments by prohibiting exports to or imports from those countries.

Word Tutor: embargo
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: Legal prohibition or restriction of foreign commerce or trade.

pronunciation The imposing of an embargo by the United States can negatively impact another country's revenue.

Games: Embargo
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  • Release Date: 1977
  • Genre: Action
  • Style: Overhead View Action
Wikipedia: Embargo
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An embargo is the partial or complete prohibition of commerce and trade with a particular country, in order to isolate it. Embargos are considered strong diplomatic measures imposed in an effort, by the embargo-imposing-country, to elicit a given national-interest result from the country on which it is imposed. Embargos are similar to economic sanctions and are generally considered legal barriers to trade, not to be confused with blockades, which are often considered to be acts of war[1].

The Embargo of 1807 was a series of laws passed by the U.S. Congress 1806-1808, during the second term of President Thomas Jefferson. Britain and France were engaged in a major war; the U.S. wanted to remain neutral and trade with both sides, but neither side wanted the other to have the American supplies. The American national-interest goal was to use the new laws to avoid war, punish Britain, and force that country to respect American rights.[2].

One of the most comprehensive attempts at an embargo happened during the Napoleonic Wars. In an attempt to cripple the United Kingdom economically, the Continental System- which forbade European nations from trading with the UK- was created. In practice it was not completely enforceable and was as harmful if not more so to the nations involved than to the British.[citation needed]

The United States imposed an embargo on Cuba's Castro government on February 7, 1962.[3] Misnomered by Cuba as "el bloqueo" (the blockade), the US embargo on Cuba remains as one of the longest standing embargos. While talking some steps to allow limited economic exchanges with Cuba, President Barack Obama stated that, without improved human rights and freedoms by Cuba's current government, the embargo remains "in the national interest of the United States." The embargo has, thus far, had very limited success in bringing about any such changes in Cuban policies, as it is widely criticized and has, more significantly, been completely disregarded, even by many countries considered to be avowed allies of the United States.

Oddly enough, United States law prohibits participation in secondary embargoes.[citation needed] This occurs when one country pressures a business to stop doing business with a third country over issues with which the business is not directly involved. Not only is an American business required not to participate in a secondary embargo, but is also required to report all attempts to get a business to participate in a secondary embargo. The situation which led to these laws are attempts by Arab countries to prevent American companies from doing business with Israel and Iraq.[citation needed]

In effort to punish South Africa for its policies of apartheid, The United Nation General Assembly adopted a voluntary international oil embargo against South Africa on November 20, 1987; that embargo had the support of 130 countries.[4]

Embargoes are complex in their international meaning. In response to embargos, an independent economy or autarky often develops in an area subjected to heavy embargo. Effectiveness of embargos are thus necessarily in direct proportion to the extent and degree of international participation.

Notes

See also


Translations: Embargo
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - embargo, handelsforbud, handelssanktion, hindring
v. tr. - belægge med embargo, beslaglægge, rekvirere, konfiskere

Nederlands (Dutch)
embargo, uitvoerverbod, handelsverbod, beletsel

Français (French)
n. - (Pol, Comm, Naut, etc) embargo, (fig) interdiction, restriction
v. tr. - instaurer un embargo, (fig) interdire

Deutsch (German)
n. - Embargo, Sperre
v. - sperren

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - εμπάργκο, οικονομικός αποκλεισμός, παρεμπόδιση
v. - (οικον.) επιβάλλω εμπάργκο/οικονομικό αποκλεισμό

Italiano (Italian)
embargo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - embargo (m), proibição (f)
v. - embargar, proibir, confiscar

Русский (Russian)
эмбарго, наложить эмбарго

Español (Spanish)
n. - embargo
v. tr. - embargar, prohibir la entrada o salida de buques o mercancías

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - handelsförbud, beslag, embargo
v. - sätta i handelsförbud

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
封港令, 阻止, 禁运, 禁止出入港口

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 封港令, 阻止, 禁運
v. tr. - 禁止出入港口, 禁運

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 억류, 통상 정지, 금지
v. tr. - 출항 금지를 명하다, 입항 금지를 명하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 出港禁止, 通商禁止, 制限
v. - 出入港を禁止する, 輸出入を禁止する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) حظر (فعل) يفرض حظرا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אמברגו, מעצר, הסגר, איסור על כניסה לנמלי מדינה ויציאה מהם, השעייה רשמית של מסחר או פעילות אחרת‬
v. tr. - ‮אמברגו, הטיל אמברגו על, מעצר, הסגר‬


 
 
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