Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. This has been a  major problem in foreign trade. When this happens, traders are unable to transact business and at the mercy of the government till the sanctions are lifted.

For instance, in August 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered a ban on dollars for food imports, forcing importers to source for dollars at parallel markets. This singular move skyrocketed the prices of consumables in the local economy.