Monday, July 28, 2025 - A garment factory in Lesotho, which has produced Trump-branded golf shirts, may have to soon shut down following the massive import taxes, or tariffs, imposed by the US government earlier this year.
The small, southern African kingdom was hit with
"reciprocal" tariffs of 50% - a higher rate than any other country -
when they were announced by US President Donald Trump in April.
Although they have since been put on hold, Trump says they
will be reimposed this Friday, 1 August, along with other countries around the
world, unless a separate deal is reached.
Lesotho has become known as the "denim capital of
Africa". The country's garment factories also produce jeans for iconic
American brands such as Levi's and Wrangler.
But the uncertainty over the future of the country's clothes
industry is one reason why Lesotho declared a national "state
of disaster" earlier this month in order to speed up
job-creation.
Although the 50% tariff has been paused, Lesotho's exports
to the US are still subject to a 10% tax, like the rest of the world.
Until this year, its exports had not been subject to any US
tariffs under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) - a law passed in
Washington in 2000 to allow duty-free access to the US for goods from some
countries in order to alleviate poverty and create jobs. This was part of the
"trade not aid" philosophy.
The textile and garment industry is Lesotho's largest
private sector employer providing, at its peak, around 50,000 jobs, out of a
population of just over two million.
The figure now hovers around 36,000 according to the
government, with 12,000 jobs directly affected by the US tariffs.
But the
Lesotho textiles boom boosted by Agoa meant that it had a trade surplus with
the US - exporting more than it imports from the country.
And that was
why Trump imposed such high tariffs on the country, which appear to have put an
end to Agoa, threatening the future of the one bright spot in the country's
economy.
Despite the relative success of the clothes factories -
until now - the country as a whole is still struggling to create enough jobs
for its young population.
Unemployment
stands at 30% but for young people the rate is almost 50%, according to
official figures.
TZICC, owned
by a Taiwanese national, has
been operational in Lesotho since 1999, producing sportswear for the likes of
JC Penney, Walmart and Costco.
At the height of operations, the firm produced 400,000
garments a month but when the BBC visits, hundreds of sewing machines lie
gathering dust in one of the warehouses.
A manager at
the firm, Rahila Omar, says the company's 1,000 employees, mostly women, have
been laid off for the next four months due to a halt in orders.
"Because
of the... pressure of the tariffs, our buyers wanted us to finish the order or
the quantity as soon as we can. We were given a deadline of 30 June, but we
finished before 30 June, and that's why we have a layoff," she says.
Ms Omar says
TZICC is waiting for an update on Agoa and whether the current tariff structure
would be reviewed before deciding on the next step. Even if the current 10% tax
remained, without Agoa, it would not be enough for the firm to reopen as there
would be "some additional charges" to consider, she explains.
And while the
factory also supplies clothing to South African retailers, Ms Omar says the
income generated from these pales in comparison to what the firm earns from the
US market.
Despite the
government's assurance that it is working to resolve the issue - with the
minister even promising a desperate passer-by who spotted him during our
interview that "it's going to work [out] at the end of the day" - for
ex-employees, these are hollow words for the country's despondent and hopeless
workforce.
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