Blitz Bureau
MASERU: Lesotho, which Donald Trump sometime back said “nobody has ever heard of”, was slapped with White House’s highest tariff rates in the list released by the US President on April 2.
Americans bringing goods in from the small southern African country will have to pay an additional 50 per cent import tax, said a BBC News report. The US has a big trade deficit with Lesotho, which sells textiles – including jeans – and diamonds to America, according to the report.
The 50 per cent rate for Lesotho was part of what Trump described as “reciprocal tariffs” imposed on imports from dozens of countries, including 20 in Africa. All nations face a minimum rate of 10 per cent.
One of Trump’s aims with his tariff announcement is to reduce his country’s trade deficit with the rest of the world. And this gives a clue as to why Lesotho has been hit so hard. According to White House figures, in 2024 while the US exported just $2.8m (£2.1m) worth of goods to Lesotho, its imports from the southern African country amounted to $237.3million.
In their calculations, US officials used the difference between the value of imports and exports in setting the tariff rates for different countries.
In recent years, Lesotho has been successful in selling 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 without having tariffs slapped on them. Signed into law by President Bill Clinton, AGOA was intended to help African countries grow their economies and create jobs, but these tariffs appear to threaten its future. Lesotho’s garment factories have made jeans for iconic American brands such as Levi’s and Wrangler in recent years.
Clothes make up nearly three-quarters of what Lesotho exports to the US– its second biggest trading partner after South Africa. Colette van der Ven, a lawyer who specialises in international trade, told the BBC that the 50 pc figure Trump has imposed on Lesotho “makes little sense logically”.
She described it as “ironic” that the US was effectively punishing Lesotho for the success it has enjoyed under AGOA.
