US President Donald Trump intends to end trade benefits for Mauritania on Jan. 1 for not making sufficient progress on ending forced labor practices, the US Trade Representative’s Office (USTR) said on Friday. In a statement, USTR said Trump has determined after an annual eligibility review that Mauritania is not in compliance with requirements of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which provides duty-free treatment for certain goods. “Forced or compulsory labor practices like hereditary slavery have no place in the 21st century,” Deputy US Trade Representative C.J. Mahoney said. Published in Daily Times, November 4th 2018.