Abstract
International economic embargoes (IEEs) are one of the most contested issues in the world. This issue has serious impacts (economic and social) on the target countries. Historically, international economic embargoes have been imposed (among others) on Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Iraq and Libya. Indeed, Libya is a unique case in this front. Libya had been under unilateral sanctions from the USA (1981-1989) and from the UN (1990-2003). These sanctions limit and/or restrict access to various national and international resources to Libya. This Paper attempts to examine the links between international economic embargoes and the Libyan foreign trade. In particular, this study attempts to investigate the pattern of Libyan export and import during the period of international sanctions (1978-2010), as well as studying the balance of payment and the product structure of Libyan export and import in the same period