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3w ago

Trump’s 50% Tariff Pushes Lesotho’s Economy to Brink of Collapse

The sweeping U.S. trade policy shift threatens Lesotho’s textile sector, its largest industry, while ending critical trade agreements with African nations.

Kenyan workers prepare clothes for export at the United Aryan Export Processing Zone (EPZ) factory, operating under the U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), in Ruaraka district of Nairobi, Kenya October 26, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File Photo
Workers have lunch on the street near the Afri-Expo Textile Factory in Maseru, Lesotho on March 19, 2025.
(FILES) A worker uses a sewing machine at Afri-Expo Textile Factory in Maseru, Lesotho on March 19, 2025. The small African kingdom of Lesotho feared the worst for its textile industry on April 3, 2025 after US President Donald Trump imposed 50-percent tariffs on its imports, the highest for a single nation. Other African countries hit with Trump's "reciprocal tariffs" above the new baseline rate of 10 percent include Madagascar (47 percent), Mauritius (40 percent), Botswana (37 percent), Equatorial Guinea (30 percent) and South Africa (30 percent). But the mountain kingdom, which the US administration says is among "the worst offenders" with high tariffs on US imports, will be particularly hard hit as it is reliant on exports of mostly textiles, including jeans. (Photo by Roberta Ciuccio / AFP) (Photo by ROBERTA CIUCCIO/AFP via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • President Trump’s new tariffs include a 50% levy on Lesotho, the highest imposed under his trade policy, targeting nations with minimal U.S. imports.
  • Lesotho’s textile sector, employing 40,000 workers and accounting for 90% of its manufacturing exports, faces potential collapse under the new tariffs.
  • The tariffs effectively end the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), cutting preferential trade access for African economies to U.S. markets.
  • Lesotho’s economy, heavily reliant on U.S. markets for over 10% of its GDP, risks severe multiplier effects, including widespread unemployment and business closures.
  • The government of Lesotho has yet to respond, but analysts warn the tariffs could devastate one of the world’s poorest nations, already grappling with U.S. aid cuts.