Lesotho’s Textile Sector Collapses Under Weight Of U.S. Tariffs
Lesotho’s textile industry, the country’s largest private employer and a pillar of its economy, is reeling from sweeping U.S. tariffs that have triggered mass layoffs, shut down factories and shaken one of Africa’s most vulnerable nations.
The tariffs, introduced in April under U.S. President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal trade” policy, imposed levies of up to 50 per cent on imports from all partners. For Lesotho, where the United States is the second-largest export market, the impact has been devastating. In 2024, exports to the U.S. totaled US$ 237 million, equivalent to nearly 10 per cent of Lesotho’s GDP.
Since the new duties took effect, American buyers have canceled around 80 per cent of their orders, according to government data. The cancellations have already led to 13,000 job losses, slashing the industry’s workforce by more than a third.
With unemployment soaring, Lesotho declared a two-year state of disaster in July. The country of just over 2 million was already struggling, with a 25 per cent jobless rate and nearly half of its population living below the poverty line.
The effects are visible in the capital, Maseru. Once-bustling factory zones now stand silent as retrenched workers search for jobs that no longer exist. Local firms are also buckling under the strain. Afri-Expo Textiles, launched in 2016 with plans to expand across 10 industrial sites, has been forced to lay off nearly 500 workers as contracts dried up.
Economists note that Lesotho’s crisis highlights the risks of overdependence on single export markets and the vulnerability of Africa’s smaller economies to unilateral trade measures.
In response, Lesotho is turning to new markets in Africa and the Global South, while promoting small and medium-sized enterprises at home to build resilience.
For thousands of laid-off workers, the crisis is immediate as abandoned orders, idle production lines and lost incomes have left families facing an uncertain future.
