Trade sanctions are legal restrictions on trade with a country, which are imposed by a nation or a group of nations to punish it or change a particular policy. They are a form of economic sanctions, which are commercial and financial penalties applied by states or institutions against states, groups, or individuals. Trade sanctions can be used to punish a particular policy or to increase its costs and encourage a change in behavior. They may be unilateral, imposed by a single country, or multilateral if agreed by multiple nations. Sanctions may be also be adopted by international organizations such as the United Nations Security Council.

Trade sanctions can be implemented to restrict trade activities with certain foreign targets, usually as part of a wider sanctions program intended to achieve political or diplomatic goals. They can take the form of prohibitions on the import or export of certain goods, services, or technologies; limits placed on financial transactions between two countries; or sanctions against entire sectors of a countrys economy. The most common types of trade sanctions are non-tariff barriers (NTBs) and embargoes. Non-tariff barriers may include export licensing regimes or outright export and import bans for specified products and services. Quotas and tariffs are not typically deployed as sanctions, though they can be altered or maintained as part of a sanctions regime.

Trade sanctions can be imposed to alter objectionable policies or to punish them. Export and import restrictions are the most common type of trade sanction, and the embargo is the most severe trade sanction as a blanket prohibition on trade. Sanctions will generally include trade measures such as restrictions or embargoes on exports of certain items to specific countries or end-users. Trade sanctions are a cornerstone of foreign policy for governments around the world and are used to punish violations of international law and human rights abuses or to enhance national security.