A reprieve from a 50 United States US tariff on goods from Lesotho has come too late to prevent damage to the tiny African kingdoms textiles industry, which has been hit hard by months of trade uncertainty, officials and industry players said.
Lesothos tariff rate was slashed to 15 in last weeks executive order by US President Donald Trump, down from the level of 50 tariff threatened in April, which was the highest of any of America's trading partners.
Textile industry players in the country, which produce jeans and other garments for popular US brands such as Levis 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 US market made up 10 of his companys production, about 1 million a year and that he had to lay off 200 workers, or 40 of his workforce, after the announcement in April, as orders dried up.
