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.
U.S. Senator Pressler, introduced the Pressler Amendment which imposed an embargo on all economical and military aid to Pakistan for developing nuclear weapons.[33] This whole episode caused very negative publicity in Pakistan towards the USA as many people in Pakistan as well as the Pakistani Armed Forces believed they had risked a great deal in helping the USA give the Soviet Union its own Vietnam in Afghanistan and when the task was done, Pakistan was promptly abandoned.
The embargo continued for five years and in 1995, the Brown Amendment authorised a one-time delivery of US military equipment, contracted for prior to October 1990, worth US$368 million. However, the additional 28 F-16 aircraft costing US$658 million and already paid for by Pakistan were not delivered. Unable to purchase American or NATO weaponry, Pakistan tried to develop an indigenous weapons industry, which has yielded some successes such as the development of the Al-Khalid Tank and JF-17 Strike Fighter.
Over the past four decades the United States and Western Europe have adopted very different policies towards East-West trade. Western Europe has recognized the linkages between trade and political relations but is reluctant to use trade policy explicitly as a political tool, while the United States has been willing to use trade embargoes for political ends.
'Leverage' refers to the use of economic pressures, such as threats of trade embargoes, for political objectives. The attractiveness of an embargo depends on the relative costs which it imposes on the parties involved. These costs are positively related to the share of a country's income derived