United States trade policy was entirely a matter of economic policy. 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. After World War I, interest revived. President Woodrow Wilson promoted such sanctions as a method for the League of Nations to enforce peace. However, he failed to bring the United States into the League, and the U.S. did not join the 1935 League sanctions against Italy. However, in 1940, the United States participated in the ABCD line against Japan, and the Helium Act of 1925 forbade the export of that strategic commodity. Interest in the trade as a tool of foreign policy expanded during the Cold War era, and many economic sanctions were applied. The Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 was only in effect for five years. Later, sanctions were additionally aimed against countries the U.S. government listed as "State Sponsors of Terrorism."

For a complete of countries under U.S. sanctions, see Wikipedia United States sanctions.

Another example of economic/business sanctions on a country are those in Iraq, which 'officially' started once Iraq invaded Kuwait, back in 1990. The sanctions were then extended, as per presumed weapons of mass destruction, up until 2003. The intensity of such sanctions provided for the country to regress on all fronts to the point that still today, 2022, the aftermath of such sanctions are still felt. An example among the many, for example, Iraq has intermittent grid electrical power, even though being one of the largest producers of petroleum. This in turn, furthering the example, affects water supply and sanitation, and hence in Basra there are commonly, and sadly, outbreaks of cholera. There are some very good, well researched and well documented books on the subject matter of sanctions on Iraq: H.C. von Sponeck A different kind of war: UN sanctions regime in Iraq; T.Y Ismael Iraq the human cost of history; G.Simons The scouring of Iraq; A. Arnove Iraq under siege: The deadly impact of sanctions and war ; A. H. Al Ani et al., Genocide in Iraq: The case against the UN security council and member states; A.H. Cordesman Iraq and the war of sanctions: conventional threats and weapons of mass destruction.

There is some pretty good hard fact evidence from the over three decades of Iraq recent history, that these sanctions were brutal on Iraq at the time and their aftermath some what worse. This was exemplified by a statement, which had a good dose of foresight, made by Tarek Aziz, former Iraqi foreign minister, during the later years of the Iran -Iraq war in the 1980s to his American counter part: it went something likes this ( not the exact words here used, but convey the meaning) ' you do not care who wins this war, either Iraq or Iran, your interest is bleeding us both dry' .

Trade Sanctions (Economic)

It is part of what countries resort to in order to impose their control over another group or country that is not in accordance with the general policies of the state that can impose such sanctions, and it may be from a group of countries, especially what was already done on Iraq in the year 1990 and the issuance of UN resolutions for opportunities A very large economic siege on Iraq, to ​​the extent that the embargo was imposed, even writing paper and pencils for students. But such sanctions may find their way to punish a people and not a single ruling regime at the top of the pyramid of governance, which is what happened in Iraq and currently in North Korea because of its foreign policies, as well as the normalization of sanctions against Iran by the United States of America and some Western countries, and that Because of its nuclear program, as well as because of its long-range missiles, as well as its support for armed factions in several countries through the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Which it currently aspires to remove from the list of international terrorism within the current Vienna talks.

Also comes the trade sanctions imposed several months ago on most of Russia's energy sectors due to its invasion of Ukraine.