Photos: YouTube Screenshots
Perhaps US President Donald Trump misspoke last month when he mentioned Lesotho in his speech to Congress, declaring the mountainous kingdom a country “no one has heard of.”
But after Trump on Wednesday slapped 50% tariffs on Lesotho’s US exports, many Basotho might have preferred he really had never heard of them.
Lesotho’s tiny economy has been one of the mini-success stories of AGOA: The country has built a textiles sector used by famous brands such as Wrangler and Levi jeans, as well as Trump golf gear.
It also exports car parts and diamonds to the US. Altogether it did $237 million in exports to the US — equivalent to more than 10% of its GDP. This has left a huge trade deficit in Lesotho’s favor since it doesn’t import anywhere near as much from the US. It is now scrambling to get an envoy over to Washington to “plead our case,” Trade Minister Mokhethi Shelile told reporters. “My biggest concern was the immediate closure of factories and job losses,” he said.
— Yinka
