There is also a so-called safeguard provision, under which each country would have the right to halt imports that flooded its markets.

Canada has halted imports until it can decide whether the work violates laws banning the dissemination of hate literature.

Venezuela halted imports of Colombian cars and banned a Colombian energy firm from Venezuela's oil-rich Orinoco region.

After Fidel Castro took power in 1959, the United States imposed its economic embargo on the Communist island, halting imports of American consumer goods.

The Agriculture Ministry halted imports of American poultry on March 10, citing concerns over the use of chemicals and antibiotics by farmers.

China has virtually halted imports of special materials and is confining its purchases to run-of-the-mill commodities.

The Federal Centers for Disease Control has halted imports by three of the nation's largest monkey dealers because of concerns about a spreading virus.

The ban replaces a Bush Administration measure that halted imports of assault-style semiautomatics.

Greenpeace has called on the Mexican government to halt imports of genetically modified corn, but the genie is already out of the bottle.

Other countries halted or slowed imports from the affected nations.