Obama extends trade benefits to Mali, Curacao

President Obama on Monday signed an executive order extending preferential trade benefits to the African nation of Mali and the Caribbean island country of Curacao.

{mosads}Last December, Obama suspended trade benefits for Mali under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) after a military coup. This July, elections restored a civilian president to power. Curacao was granted trade benefits formally given to the Netherlands Antilles, which it ceased being a part of in 2010.

The Mali and Curacao actions came as part of a grab-bag trade-related executive order that also extended low agricultural tariffs to Israel, ended trade benefits to Ecuador due to the expiration of the Andean Trade Preferences Act and implemented details of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement.