US Trade Sanctions for North Korea in 2013 Essay

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Introduction

Relationships amongst countries are governed by rules that ensure there is a fair, healthy, and legal interaction business environment. Political and social-economic factors also affect how countries interact and conduct their businesses. All nations are supposed to respect laws that govern their interactions to ensure international relations are promoted. However, those that do not respect the rules set by international bodies like the United Nations, European Union, and African Union are usually subjected to harsh penalties to ensure they conform to the required standards or stop participating in international trade. This paper examines the trade sanctions imposed on North Korea by the USA in January 2013.

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Background

Sanctions are political trade restrictions imposed by countries on nations that engage in practices that threaten international peace, development, and security. It is important to explain that nations must not violate international treaties or the sovereignty of other countries. The United States imposed trade sanctions on the Republic of Korea in January 2013 after the PRK decided to launch a rocket carrying a satellite into orbit (Klingner par. 3).

The United Nations condemned this act because it believed that it violated international treaties that required nations to refrain from activities that were perceived to threaten global peace. The economic restrictions imposed on the People’s Republic of Korea ensured some individuals, companies, and government agencies were blacklisted by the United States and the United Nations. This means that North Korea was not free to do its business activities with other countries because of the trade restrictions imposed.

Impacts of the Restriction

International trade ensures there is a healthy interaction between different countries. However, the economic restriction imposed on North Korea meant that it was not free to interact with other nations. The international trade agreements stipulate that a country that has been earned restrictions cannot freely import or export goods and services from and to other countries respectively (Klingner par. 7). Its interactions with other nations are minimized. However, North Korea and other countries located in the Hermit Kingdom can transact their businesses because the United Nations has no power over this group. Therefore, trade activities between North Korea and these countries will take place, but not with other nations that are governed by international trade organization agreements.

Secondly, the role of a trade restriction is to ensure the victim realizes his mistakes and corrects them. Therefore, North Korea was wrong in launching its rocket into orbit yet it knew that this was against the laws of the United Nations. However, this country is not yet ready to be steered by international treaties it believes are subjective and give impartial treatment to countries. The argument presented by North Korea was that America had launched unmanned aircraft into space and nobody questioned this move (Richelson 13). There was no reason for the United States and the United Nations to ask it to stop launching its rocket.

The sanction proved that North Korea was not ready to cede its ground and let America or the United Nations dictate what it should do. Therefore, the sanction did not achieve its objective because North Korea did not apologize or backtrack.

Thirdly, the economic sanction was placed by the United States, but this had an enormous impact on the relationship with North Korea and its European friends. Most western nations achieve their missions because they work together to advance their course. They unite and form a strong force that helps them to achieve their objectives, unlike Asian, Arab and African countries. It is necessary to explain that the United Kingdom, France, the United States, and other western countries backtracked and minimized their association with North Korea after the economic restriction was imposed on it. This means that North Korea had minimal contacts with the rest of the world and this affected its social, economic, and political development.

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Trading with North Korea is a nightmare for other countries due to the economic restrictions imposed on it by the United Nations and America. The United States facilitates trading activities with other countries through the loans offered by the Export-Import Bank of the United States to traders. It ensures their businesses in foreign countries as a way of supporting them. However, the economic sanctions imposed on North Korea do not allow the United States to promote any business activity in this country (Palmer par. 4).

This means that there are no loans offered to traders wishing to export or import goods and services to and from North Korea respectively. North Korea is henceforth considered to be a Marxist-Leninist state and thus the Export-Import Bank cannot support any trader wishing to do his business with this country (Palmer par. 3). In addition, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation cannot offer loans for industrial investments to build a plant in North Korea because it is considered to be a hermit region.

Moreover, trade restrictions are aimed at ensuring there is an imbalance between the imports and exports of a country. North Korea has faced several trade restrictions from the United States and the United Nations, but it seems this country is not ready to stop investing in nuclear operations (Richelson 32). The United Nations wants to ensure that North Korea has limited capital to finance its recurrent expenditure so that it can stop investing in nuclear weapons.

It is necessary to explain that the last economic restriction imposed on North Korea by the United States means that it could import as much as it could but its exports were minimized. For instance, the value of North Korea’s imports from America in 2012 was less than $12 million, while it traded with South Korea for more than $39 billion worth of goods (Palmer par. 5). In addition, there was no trade between America and North Korea in some months and this means that the economy of this country was stagnating.

However, the success of the trade sanctions imposed on North Korea by the United States seems to have no major impacts as far as other countries are concerned. The United Nations has vague resolutions that do not define the extent of economic and social interactions between North Korea and other countries (Palmer par. 6). Therefore, some countries continue exporting and importing luxury goods from and to North Korea and this gives it the impetus to continue ignoring the orders issued by the United Nations and America.

U. N. member states do not file reports about their trade with North Korea and this makes the sanctions irrelevant. North Korea uses shell companies to circumvent the economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations and this makes the restrictions irrelevant because this country continues to participate in international trade just like other nations.

Solutions and Recommendations

The United Nations should ensure it imposes tougher economic restrictions on North Korea to ensure it stops its nuclear activities. In addition, the United Nations member states should speak with one voice and ensure they follow the restrictions imposed on this country to show it the importance of international peace. Thirdly, the United States should not work alone in fighting the production of nuclear weapons; instead, it should seek the assistance of other countries to ensure this issue is given adequate attention. Lastly, there is a need for the United Nations to ensure it applies equal treatment to all countries and stop giving America unnecessary attention and special preferences.

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Works Cited

Klingner, Bruce. Time to Get North Korean Sanctions Right. 2013. Web.

Palmer, Brian. Is There Anything Left To Sanction in North Korea? A Guide to Doing Business Legally With the Hermit Kingdom. 2013. Web.

Richelson, Jeffrey. Spying on the Bomb: American Nuclear Intelligence from Nazi Germany to Iran and North Korea. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2007. Print.

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IvyPanda. (2021, February 26). US Trade Sanctions for North Korea in 2013. https://ivypanda.com/essays/us-trade-sanctions-for-north-korea-in-2013/

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"US Trade Sanctions for North Korea in 2013." IvyPanda, 26 Feb. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/us-trade-sanctions-for-north-korea-in-2013/.

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IvyPanda. (2021) 'US Trade Sanctions for North Korea in 2013'. 26 February.

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IvyPanda. 2021. "US Trade Sanctions for North Korea in 2013." February 26, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/us-trade-sanctions-for-north-korea-in-2013/.

1. IvyPanda. "US Trade Sanctions for North Korea in 2013." February 26, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/us-trade-sanctions-for-north-korea-in-2013/.


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IvyPanda. "US Trade Sanctions for North Korea in 2013." February 26, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/us-trade-sanctions-for-north-korea-in-2013/.

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