The reason for the embargo is the effort to weaken France and Great Britain during the Napoleonic wars. The reason for the prohibition on European goods is a violation of the neutral states of the United States in the war, by depriving their merchants of their products. President Thomas Jefferson suggested Congress acted as a trade war, not a military retaliation.
The embargo was to stop the looting of American ships by Britain and France. The blockade has at the same time undermined the belief of American citizens that their government can enforce its laws fairly, and reinforces the idea among America's enemies that its republican form of government is unprofitable and inefficient. The embargo was revoked in March 1809. A large number of local merchants were outraged by the law.
