Economic coercion
Topic: International Trade Policy, WTO and Intellectual Property · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Economic coercion is the use of economic pressure to force another country to change its policies. The tools include tariffs, export bans, boycotts and cutting off supplies. It works best when the target depends heavily on the coercing country. It is a central part of the weaponisation of trade: using trade dependencies as a tool of geopolitical pressure.
Example
China imposed export controls on gallium and germanium (2023), graphite (2023) and rare earths and magnets (2023–25), which the world depends on China for. In response, the EU Anti-Coercion Instrument (in force December 2023) allows the EU to take counter-measures against such pressure.
Don't confuse with
- Economic sanctions: formal restrictions, often multilateral (UNSC sanctions bind all UN members), imposed for stated political or security aims. Coercion is a broader, often informal, use of economic pressure.
Related concepts
- Weaponisation of trade
- Economic sanctions
- Secondary sanctions
- Export controls
- Dual-use goods
- Technology denial
- Security exception
- Trade war
- Retaliatory tariff
- Reciprocal tariff