An embargo is an official ban on trade (or some other commercial activity) with another country. A sanction is an action taken by one or more countries toward another country to try to force it to comply with legal obligations. Sanctions may include a trade embargo, or a limit to what can be traded with a particular country (for example, Because country A isn't obeying international law, countries B,C,and D agree not to export any electronics, automobiles, or luxury goods to country A, limit the amount of oil that can be imported/exported from country A, etc.).