Adverse Effects Of US Tariffs On The Lesotho Garment Industry

MASERU, LESOTHO - JULY 4: Factory workers employed by Afri-Expo iron denim products on July 4, 2025 in Maseru, Lesotho. The company exports most of its products to South Africa but also some to the US. The founder, Teboho Kobeli, is currently more concerned by Chinese companies possibly dumping textiles in Africa due to strained trade relations with the US. Lesotho has around 35000 garment workers and many of them face an uncertain future. Goods traded from Lesotho to the US will be subject to 50% tariffs from July 9, after President Trump announced hefty tariffs on trading partners around the globe on what has come to be known as Liberation Day. According to White House 2024 figures, the US exported just $2.8m (£2.1m) worth of goods to Lesotho; its imports from the southern African country amounted to $237.3m. In recent years, Lesotho has successfully sold textiles to the US, making the most of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). This US legislation from 2000 allowed eligible African countries to send some goods to the US tariff-free. Still, the agreement, due for renewal in September, has been rendered unworkable by the Trump administration's hefty tariff policy. Lesotho's garment industry has already been impacted, with many factories closed and manufacturers worrying that Chinese clothing products that had been destined for the US will be dumped on the African continent. (Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)