Lesotho has dispatched a high-level delegation to the United States this weekend to urgently negotiate tariff reductions that are crippling the country’s vital textile industry, following the implementation of a 15% levy that has devastated exports and threatened thousands of jobs.
The delegation, led by Trade and Industry Minister Mokhethi Shelile, includes Labour and Employment Minister Ts’eliso Mokhosi, along with representatives from the Lesotho Textile Exporters Association and labor unions, according to Bloomberg reports.
“We want the negotiations to start at zero as a starting point because it is where we were before the new US policy,” said Lihaelo Nkaota, a spokesperson for Lesotho’s trade ministry. “We want the tariffs to be below the 15% for the benefit of the employers and workers.”
The crisis began in April when President Donald Trump threatened Lesotho with punitive 50% tariffs, later reduced to 15% in August, but the damage was already severe by then. US buyers had cancelled approximately 80% of orders even before the final rate was implemented, according to industry officials.
Before the tariff implementation, most of Lesotho’s exports to the US – its second-largest trading partner – entered duty-free under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which effectively ended with the new policy.
Lesotho’s textile sector employs around 12,000 people directly and supports an additional 40,000 livelihoods indirectly, making it the country’s largest private employer. The industry serves major US retailers including Walmart, JC Penney, and Levi Strauss & Co.
The tariff impact has been immediate and severe. Several factories have been forced to implement job cuts as US orders evaporated, with some reports indicating that 13,000 jobs have already been lost since the initial tariff threat in April.
The timing of the delegation’s mission is critical, as workers and street vendors in Lesotho have planned protests for September 17 to voice their dismay over the tariffs’ devastating impact on their livelihoods.
Lesotho’s textile manufacturing sector has been particularly vulnerable due to its heavy dependence on the US market, with approximately 75% of its textile output exported to America. The industry developed over two decades into a crucial economic pillar for the landlocked southern African kingdom.
Industry experts warn that the current tariff level has sent shockwaves through Lesotho’s economy, threatening the viability of textile manufacturing that has provided employment for thousands of workers, many of them women supporting families.
The delegation faces the challenge of convincing US officials that the trade relationship benefits both countries and that high tariffs on a small, developing nation like Lesotho serve no constructive purpose.
Minister Shelile has previously argued that Lesotho maintains only a 7.5% tariff rate on US imports under the Southern African Customs Union framework, making the 15% US tariff disproportionate to the actual trade imbalance.
The mission represents Lesotho’s latest attempt to restore preferential trade access that was crucial for its textile industry’s development and survival. Previous diplomatic efforts following the initial tariff threats in April proved insufficient to prevent significant economic damage.
For many Textile workers who have lost monthly incomes ranging from $162 to $168, the delegation’s success could determine whether they can return to employment or face continued economic hardship.
The outcome of this weekend’s negotiations will be closely watched across Africa, as other nations fear similar tariff actions could undermine decades of trade relationship building under programs like AGOA.
