After the failure of the Embargo Act of 1807, the federal government of the United States took little interest in imposing embargoes and economic sanctions against foreign countries until the 20th century. United States trade policy was entirely a matter of economic policy. After World War I, interest revived. President Woodrow Wilson promoted such sanctions as a method for the League of Nations to enforce peace. However, he failed to bring the United States into the League and the US did not join the 1935 League sanctions against Italy. However, in 1940, the United States participated in the ABCD line against Japan, and the Helium Act of 1925 forbade the export of that strategic commodity. Interest in trade as a tool of foreign policy expanded during the Cold War era, and many economic sa