MASERU – Lesotho’s textile industry remains in distress despite a U.S. tariff cut that reduced the threatened 50% rate to 15%, Trade Minister Mokhethi Shelile has said.
Speaking by phone to Reuters on Friday, Shelile described the revised duty as insufficient to revive the country’s embattled manufacturing sector, which has already suffered mass layoffs following order cancellations from American buyers.
The sector, which employs around 40,000 workers, is Lesotho’s leading private employer and the backbone of its export economy. It relies heavily on access to the U.S. market through the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA), which previously allowed duty-free trade.
The Trump administration, citing alleged 99% tariffs imposed by Lesotho on U.S. goods — a figure officials in Maseru say they cannot explain — issued a 50% tariff threat in April, sending shockwaves through the industry. Although that rate has now been reduced to 15%, the damage appears far from undone.
Shelile said the new rate still places Lesotho at a disadvantage when compared with regional competitors like Eswatini and Kenya, who face a lower 10% tariff.
“Fifteen percent for the textile industry is as good as 50%,” he said. “We can’t compete.”
Factories have begun exploring new markets in recent months. However, Shelile noted that the government remains in talks with the U.S. in hopes of securing a more favourable trade arrangement.
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