Lesotho has received a modified tariff rate of 15 Thursday from United States President Donald Trump as the nation continued to reel from high tariffs the administration had threatened to implement earlier this year.
In an executive order, Trump modified reciprocal tariff rates for dozens of countries, including Lesotho, which had been under threat of a 50 rate since April, the highest of any US trading partner.
The Trump administration defended its tariff rate on the mountain kingdom in Southern Africa as reciprocal, stating that Lesotho charged 99 tariffs on U.S. goods.
Lesotho officials have said they do not know how the White House arrived at that figure.
After announcing the barrage of reciprocal tariffs in April, the administration paused implementation to give countries time to negotiate.