Emperor Napoleon III ordered free trade reforms in France with the immediate removal of custom's duties on wool and cottons. He also instructed a more gradual reduction in other items, including sugar. This paves the way for a free trade treaty with Britain signed a few weeks later. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
The American Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge for the Year 1861 (Boston: Crosby, Nichols, Lee and Company, 1860), 406.