Despite tariff reprieve, Lesotho says it is already hurting

By Marafaele, Mohloboli and Sisipho Skweyiya

A reprieve from a 50% U.S. tariff on goods from Lesotho has come too late to prevent damage to the tiny African kingdom’s textiles industry, which has been hit hard by months of trade uncertainty, officials and industry players said.

Lesotho’s tariff rate was slashed to 15% in last week’s executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump, down from the level of 50% tariff threatened in April – which was the highest of any U.S. trading partner.

Textile industry players in the country – which produces jeans and other garments for popular U.S. brands such as Levi’s and Walmart – said the uncertainty around tariffs over the past few months had already devastated the sector, with orders cancelled and jobs cut.

“We were on the verge of building (our) American market,” Teboho Kobeli, founder and managing director of Afri-Expo Textiles, told Reuters at his factory in Maseru.

He said the U.S.