On August 2nd local time, Mochetti Sherilay, the Minister of Trade and Industrial Development of Lesotho, an African landlocked country, said that the US tariff policy has had a severe impact on Lesotho’s textile industry, and the imposition of high tariffs is extremely unfair to a developing country like Lesotho.

Lesotho is one of the least developed countries recognized by the United Nations. The textile industry is a pillar industry of Lesotho. Its garment exports mainly rely on the US market, creating more than 40,000 jobs. In April this year, the United States announced the imposition of a so-called “equivalent tariff” of 50% on it. Although it later announced the suspension of implementation, the current 15% tariff rate decided by the US government still poses a severe challenge to the country’s fragile economy.

Mochetti Sherilay, Minister of Trade and Industrial Development of Lesotho: Due to the weak competitiveness of our country’s textile industry, they are unable to compete in the market. Due to the US tariffs, 12,000 jobs in Lesotho have been directly affected, and approximately 40,000 people will be impacted as a result.

Under the threat of tariffs, many American importers have cancelled orders for textiles produced in Lesotho, leading to large-scale layoffs in the Lesotho textile industry. Shelley said that the unemployment wave triggered by US tariffs might further affect industries such as transportation, warehousing and logistics, and real estate, threatening social stability and development.

Textile trader: My business will be severely affected because tariffs will influence the prices of the goods I sell. I had to raise the price. Now my customers won’t come back anymore because they think the price is too high.

It is “unfair” for the United States to miscalculate and impose high tariffs.

Shelley said that the calculation of US tariffs only covers goods trade and completely ignores its huge trade surplus with Lesotho in services. It is “absolutely unfair” to impose high tariffs on Lesotho based on this erroneous calculation method.

He emphasized that the development of Lesotho’s textile industry has benefited from the incentive of the zero-tariff policy. Now, it is truly “unfair” for the US side to unilaterally push for the imposition of tariffs. The unilateral imposition of discriminatory tariffs by the United States violates the principles of the World Trade Organization. He also stated that in the face of such unilateralism and protectionism that disrupt the global supply chain, African countries should enhance cooperation and jointly respond.