Lesotho’s garment makers say a White House decision to trim U.S. import duties to 15%—down from the 50% rate threatened in April—cannot undo months of cancelled orders and mass layoffs.
- Factories gutted: Afri-Expo Textiles founder Teboho Kobeli has already shed 200 jobs—40 % of his staff—after buyers froze contracts when the 50% levy loomed.
- Jobs on the line: Trade Minister Mokhethi Shelile warns that some 12,000 positions remain “directly on the firing line,” leaving the mountain kingdom struggling to compete with Kenya and Eswatini, whose goods face a lower 10% U.S. tariff.
- Sector lifeline at risk: Textiles are Lesotho’s top private employer, sustaining roughly 40,000 workers and 90 % of manufacturing exports under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act.
Kobeli hopes the lower duty will coax U.S. retailers back, but concedes that “the damage is done” after months of uncertainty froze investment across the supply chain. Workers like 48-year-old Matsoso Lepau, laid off in April, are waiting to see whether the reprieve will actually restore lost paychecks.
With GDP just above $2 billion, officials fear Lesotho’s economy cannot absorb another shock if orders don’t rebound quickly.