Lesotho’s new 15% tariff rate may still deal a heavy blow to its textile industry, Trade Minister Mokhethi Shelile said on Friday, just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump lowered the initially proposed 50% tariff.
In an executive order, Trump revised reciprocal tariffs for dozens of countries, including Lesotho, which had been facing the threat of the highest rate among U.S. trade partners since April.
“It’s a mixed feeling,” Shelile told Reuters by telephone. “The sad part is that it is still not good enough … this will lead to job losses.”
Textiles are Lesotho’s top export industry, heavily reliant on the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA), a U.S. trade initiative that provides duty-free access to the U.S. market for eligible African countries.
The preferential treatment allowed the textile sector to become the country’s largest private employer, accounting for around 40,000 jobs and roughly 90% of manufacturing exports, according to Oxford Economics.
Don’t Miss This:
African Exporters Breathe Easier Amid US Tariff Suspension, But Challenges Loom
But since the tariff threat surfaced in April, many U.S. buyers have canceled their orders from Lesotho, triggering mass layoffs across the industry.
Shelile said the revised 15% tariff won’t be enough to stop the decline. “Fifteen percent for the textile industry is as good as 50%, because there’s still no chance that our textiles will compete with Kenya or Eswatini, who have 10%,” he said. “Those are our direct competition.”
The Trump administration has defended its decision, claiming that Lesotho imposes 99% tariffs on U.S. goods. However, Lesotho officials say they don’t know how that figure was calculated.
After initially threatening the tariffs in April, the White House paused implementation for 90 days to allow countries to renegotiate.
In recent months, factories in Lesotho have started looking for alternative markets. Shelile said the government will keep pushing U.S. officials to reconsider and reduce the tariff further.
Don’t Miss This:
List of African Countries Hit by Trump’s Latest Tariffs
Image Credit: The Wall Street Journal
