The Move Deals A Harsh Blow to the Small, Impoverished State, which Trump Mocked as a place ‘Nobody has heard of’.
The Trump Administration You have impaired Steep 50 Percent Tariff on Lesoth, Small, Impoverished African Nation of Two Million People – The Highest Tariff Levied on Any Country.
The Measure Delivers A Severe Blow To Lesotho’s Economy, Which RELIES HEAVILY ON EXPORTS FOR ITS MODEST $ 2BN GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP).
United States President Donald Trump, Who Mocked Lesoth Last Month As A Country “Nobody has Ever Heard of”, Announounce It As Part of A Sweeping Set of “Reciprocal Tariffs” Laid Out On Thursday.
Trump’s New Tariffs Were Calcilated Based On The Us Trade Deficit with Each Country, Divide by The Total Value of Imports From That Nation. As A Result, Smaller Economies with Limited Imports From The Us – Such As Lesoth and Madagascar – Were Hit Hardest.
Lesotho’s Trade Surplus with the us is Largely Driven by Diamond and Textile Exports, Including Levi’s Jeans. In 2024, STI exports to the US Totalled $ 237m, Accounting for More than 10 Percent of its GDP, According To Oxford Economics.
MEANWHILE, The Trump Administration Claims Lesotho Impose at 99 Percent Tariff on Us Goods.
The High Levies on Lesotho and Other African States Signalled The End of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AUGA) Trade deal that was supPedo to Help African Economies Develop Through Preferential Access to Us Markets, Trade Experts Said.
It also composes the Pain After Trump’s Administration Domentled The Us Agency for International Development (USAID), which was a Major Aid Provider to the Continent.
Thabo Qhesi, Maseru-Based Independent Economic Analyst, Said The Us Tariff On Lesoth “Is Going To Kill The The [country’s] Textile and Apparel Sector ”, ITS LARGEST PRIVATE EMPLOYER.
“If the closure of factories were to Happen, The Industry Is Going to Die and There Be Multiplier Effects,” Qhesi Said. “So Lesotho Will Be Dead, So To Say.”
The Lesoth Government Did Not Comment Immedialy On The Trade Tariffs. But ITS Foreign Minter Told The Reuters News Agency Last Month The Country, Which Has One of the Highest Hiv/Aids Infection Rates in the World, was Feeling the Impact of the Aid cuts as The Health Had Been Reliant On Them.
