Fashion
How US tariffs rattled Lesotho’s apparel sector
Lesotho’s manufacturing sector has long been regarded as one of its most promising economic pillars, with textiles and apparel leading the charge. Alongside industries like footwear, food, and beverages, textiles have emerged as the dominant force—providing jobs, foreign exchange, and a sense of industrial identity for the small, landlocked southern African nation.
Lesotho’s manufacturing sector, led by textiles and apparel, has been a major economic driver, creating thousands of jobs and generating substantial export earnings, making it a top garment exporter in Sub-Saharan Africa.
However, the US tariff of 50 per cent, which was eventually lowered to 15 per cent after a 90-day pause, triggered mass order cancellations and widespread layoffs.
Over the past two decades, Lesotho has carved out a niche for itself in the realm of garment manufacturing and export, thanks in large part to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The trade deal granted duty-free access to US markets for eligible Sub-Saharan African countries, and Lesotho made the most of it.
By 2024, Lesotho had become the second-largest exporter by value under AGOA and the third largest by volume, almost entirely driven by its textile and garment shipments, as per reports, which added that the industry racked up $237.3 million in exports to the United States that year, a remarkable figure for a nation of just over two million people.
Thousands of workers, most of them women, found stable employment in the sector, stitching garments destined for shelves across America. For a while, Lesotho’s economic narrative was one of steady progress and global integration.
But that story took a jarring turn after US President Donald Trump slapped a staggering 50 per cent tariff on Lesotho’s exports, only to reduce it to 15 per cent after a 90-day pause. But the looming threat of a 50 per cent tariff after the expiry of the 90 days sent shockwaves through the country’s economy, particularly its textile sector, as widespread uncertainty and concern gripped one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s top garment exporters.
Spooked by the looming threat of steep tariffs, American importers had already begun cancelling orders en masse, wary of escalating costs and growing uncertainty. Factory floors, once buzzing with activity, fell silent. The very lifeblood of Lesotho’s manufacturing sector began to drain away.
Layoffs followed, disproportionately affecting women who formed the backbone of the workforce, and the crisis escalated so quickly that the government was forced to declare a two-year state of disaster, citing a dramatic surge in unemployment over the country’s “high rates of youth unemployment and job losses” amidst uncertainty over US tariffs. For many families, livelihoods that had taken years to build disappeared almost overnight.
Although following the 90-day pause and considerable backlash, Trump eventually set the tariff at 15 per cent, it came too late for many businesses that had already borne the worst of the impact. Adding to the complexity, some neighbouring countries, considered Lesotho’s competitors, were offered tariffs lower than 15 per cent.
Trade Minister of the country did not mince words when he addressed this issue.
Interacting with the media, the minister reportedly underlined that the 15 per cent tariff for the textile industry was as good as 50 per cent, as he highlighted the impossibility of competing with regional players like Kenya and Eswatini, who continue to enjoy a lower 10 per cent tariff.
“Those are our direct competition,” the minister reportedly claimed, capturing the sense of frustration that has gripped the sector.
In global trade, where the difference of a few percentage points can determine profitability, even a marginal tariff can mean the loss of business to more cost-effective alternatives. What this episode lays bare is just how vulnerable smaller economies are to shifts in global policy, especially when their fortunes are tied so heavily to a single export market.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DR)
Earlier this year, Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminium and autos. Ottawa responded in kind. Bilateral talks on a potential deal for the steel and aluminum sectors had been going on since then.
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced termination of all trade talks with Canada following what he termed a fraudulent advertisement by the latter’s state of Ontario in which former and late President Ronald Reagan was shown making negative remarks about tariffs.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation said the ad was “using selective audio and video” of Reagan.
“The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs. The ad was for $75,000,000. They only did this to interfere with the decision of the US Supreme Court, and other courts,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” he added.
Premier of Canada’s Ontario state Doug Ford said earlier this week the advertisement from his province with anti-tariff messaging had caught Trump’s attention. The ad showed Reagan, a Republican, criticising tariffs on foreign goods while saying they caused job losses and trade wars.
In a statement yesterday, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation said the advertisement by the government of Ontario was “using selective audio and video” of Reagan and that the foundation was reviewing its legal options.
“The ad misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address (by Reagan in 1987), and the Government of Ontario did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks,” the foundation said.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
The bank also lowered the overnight lending rate from 43.5 per cent to 42.5 per cent and the overnight borrowing rate from 39 per cent to 38 per cent.
The Turkish central bank has cut its benchmark, one-week repo rate by 100 bps to 39.5 per cent, citing a rise in inflation and a slowdown in disinflation process.
It also lowered the overnight lending rate from 43.5 per cent to 42.5 per cent and the overnight borrowing rate from 39 per cent to 38 per cent.
The stance will be tightened if the inflation outlook deviates significantly from interim targets.
“The underlying trend of inflation increased in September,” the bank said in its statement after its monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting.
“While recent data suggest that demand conditions are at disinflationary levels, they also point to a slowdown in the disinflation process,” it said.
“The risks posed by recent price developments, particularly in food, to the disinflation process through inflation expectations and pricing behavior have become more pronounced,” it added.
The bank’s policy stance will be tightened in case the inflation outlook deviates significantly from interim targets.
In August this year, the bank switched to a new system by introducing interim targets, separating them from its inflation forecast ranges in a new strategy aimed at boosting transparency and confidence. It set the inflation target for this year at 24 per cent, even though it is forecasting inflation of between 25 per cent and 29 per cent.
At its previous meeting in September, the bank made a 250-point cut in the face of higher-than-expected inflation and heightened political risk. A 300-point cut was made in the meeting before that in July.
Annual inflation rose slightly to 33.29 per cent in September, breaking a long declining trend observed since the middle of 2024 and triggering predictions of a slowdown in the monetary easing cycle.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
The decline followed the Trump administration’s decision to impose a 50-per cent tariff on Indian goods, effective from August 27. Without the frontloading of shipments ahead of the US tariff hike, the fall would have been sharper, it noted.
India’s merchandise exports to the US contracted by 11.9 per cent YoY in September, after recording a 7-per cent YoY growth in August, while exports to non-US markets expanded by 10.9 per cent YoY in the month, accelerating from a 6.6-per cent YoY growth in August, Crisil recently said.
RMG exports contracted—from a YoY drop of 2.6 per cent in August to a decrease of 10.1 per cent YoY in September.
The country’s overall merchandise exports rose by 6.7 per cent YoY to reach $36.4 billion in September, demonstrating resilience despite global economic headwinds and the additional US tariffs. Exports rose for the third straight month, following a similar pace in August.
Exports of organic and inorganic chemicals weakened—from a YoY growth of 3.8 per cent YoY in August to to a YoY growth of 1.8 per cent in September.
Exports of readymade garments contracted—from a YoY drop of 2.6 per cent in August to a decrease of 10.1 per cent YoY in September. Within this category, exports of cotton yarn contracted by 11.7 per cent YoY in the month compared to a contraction of 2.3 per cent in August, and those of man-made yarn contracted by 2.3 per cent YoY compared to a 3.1-per cent drop in August.
The country’s merchandise exports are facing headwinds from US tariff hikes and a broader slowdown in global growth, Crisil cautioned in a note.
Crisil expects India’s current account deficit (CAD) to remain within manageable limits, backed by strong services exports, steady remittance inflows and easing crude oil prices. The CAD will be around 1 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in this fiscal, up from 0.6 per cent in the previous, it projected.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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