Lesotho hardest hit as new US tariffs rattle Africa

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The small African kingdom of Lesotho feared the worst for its textile industry on Thursday after US President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on its imports, the highest for a single nation.

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Other African countries hit with Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” above the new baseline rate of 10 percent include Madagascar (47 percent), Mauritius (40 percent), Botswana (37 percent), Equatorial Guinea (30 percent) and South Africa (30 percent).

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But the mountain kingdom, which the US administration says is among “the worst offenders” with high tariffs on US imports, will be particularly hard hit as it is reliant on exports of mostly textiles, including jeans.

‘Going to die’

While its government did not immediately react to the new tariffs, Lesotho Private Sector Foundation CEO Thabo Qhesi told AFP on Thursday they meant that “the textile and apparel industry is going to die.”

The clothing industry is the largest employer in the tiny kingdom of around 2.3 million people, providing more than 35 000 workers, according to official data.

“Before the introduction of the reciprocal tariffs, investors enjoyed exporting goods to the US market duty-free,” Qhesi said.

“With the introduction of the 50% tariffs, Lesotho is no longer going to be lucrative for investors,” he said, adding the transport, retail and residential property sectors would also suffer.

At 47 percent, the tariffs are also high for Madagascar, which said on Thursday it had approached the US embassy to “seek clarification and explore possibilities for adjusting these new tariff barriers”.

The government will “mobilise all diplomatic and commercial levers to obtain a review of these measures”, it said.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday the tariffs were “a barrier to trade and shared prosperity”.

They underscore the urgent need for “a new bilateral and mutually beneficial trade agreement”, he said.

The United States is South Africa’s second-largest trading partner.

The country’s automotive sector will be among the hardest hit, with separate tariffs of 25% on foreign-made cars going into effect shortly after Trump’s late Wednesday proclamation.

Motor vehicles account for 22% of South Africa’s exports to the United States, worth $1.88 billion, according to government statistics.

Diversifying trade

South African Minister of Trade Parks Tau said the new global trade war would affect poorer countries most and “literally devastate” Lesotho.

“We now have to look amongst ourselves and say, within the customs union in Southern Africa, within the Southern African Development Community, and within the region of Africa, how we’re going to respond to these issues,” he told journalists.

“Diversifying our trade is going to be important… enhancing our work on the African continent and collaborating,” he said.

The new US tariffs will be “disruptive of global value chains, invite retaliation, ignite inflation, dampen world economic growth and prompt repricing of risks in financial markets”, said South Africa-based economics professor Raymond Parsons.

South Africa “must see what trade adjustments might be made to win concessions to ameliorate the situation”, Parsons said, adding Pretoria should “prudently seize the moment” to find alternative trading partners.

However, “everybody is going to look for new trading partners,” said South African economist Dawie Roodt.

“Of course, we must try. But it’s going to be tough.”

Donald Trump’s US Reciprocal Tariffs by country:

Country/Region Country/Region Tariff* US Reciprocal Tariffs
Afghanistan 49% 10%
Albania 10% 10%
Algeria 59% 30%
Andorra 10% 10%
Angola 63% 32%
Anguilla 10% 10%
Antigua and Barbuda 10% 10%
Argentina 10% 10%
Armenia 10% 10%
Aruba 10% 10%
Australia 10% 10%
Azerbaijan 10% 10%
Bahamas 10% 10%
Bahrain 10% 10%
Bangladesh 74% 37%
Barbados 10% 10%
Belize 10% 10%
Benin 10% 10%
Bermuda 10% 10%
Bhutan 10% 10%
Bolivia 20% 10%
Bosnia and Herzegovina 70% 35%
Botswana 74% 37%
Brazil 10% 10%
British Indian Ocean Territory 10% 10%
British Virgin Islands 10% 10%
Brunei 47% 24%
Burma 88% 44%
Burundi 10% 10%
Cabo Verde 10% 10%
Cambodia 97% 49%
Cameroon 22% 11%
Cayman Islands 10% 10%
Central African Republic 10% 10%
Chad 26% 13%
Chile 10% 10%
China 67% 34%
Christmas Island 10% 10%
Cocos (Keeling) Islands 10% 10%
Colombia 10% 10%
Comoros 10% 10%
Congo (Brazzaville) 10% 10%
Congo (Kinshasa) 22% 11%
Cook Islands 10% 10%
Costa Rica 17% 10%
Cote d’Ivoire 41% 21%
Curacao 10% 10%
Djibouti 10% 10%
Dominica 10% 10%
Dominican Republic 10% 10%
Ecuador 12% 10%
Egypt 10% 10%
El Salvador 10% 10%
Equatorial Guinea 25% 13%
Eritrea 10% 10%
Eswatini 10% 10%
Ethiopia 10% 10%
EU 39% 20%
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) 82% 41%
Fiji 63% 32%
French Guiana 10% 10%
French Polynesia 10% 10%
Gabon 10% 10%
Gambia 10% 10%
Georgia 10% 10%
Ghana 17% 10%
Gibraltar 10% 10%
Grenada 10% 10%
Guadeloupe 10% 10%
Guatemala 10% 10%
Guinea 10% 10%
Guinea-Bissau 10% 10%
Guyana 76% 38%
Haiti 10% 10%
Heard and McDonald Islands 10% 10%
Honduras 10% 10%
Iceland 10% 10%
India 52% 26%
Indonesia 64% 32%
Iran 10% 10%
Iraq 78% 39%
Israel 33% 17%
Jamaica 10% 10%
Japan 46% 24%
Jordan 40% 20%
Kazakhstan 54% 27%
Kenya 10% 10%
Kiribati 10% 10%
Kosovo 10% 10%
Kuwait 10% 10%
Kyrgyzstan 10% 10%
Laos 95% 48%
Lebanon 10% 10%
Lesotho 99% 50%
Liberia 10% 10%
Libya 61% 31%
Liechtenstein 73% 37%
Madagascar 93% 47%
Malawi 34% 17%
Malaysia 47% 24%
Maldives 10% 10%
Mali 10% 10%
Marshall Islands 10% 10%
Martinique 10% 10%
Mauritania 10% 10%
Mauritius 80% 40%
Mayotte 10% 10%
Micronesia 10% 10%
Moldova 61% 31%
Monaco 10% 10%
Mongolia 10% 10%
Montenegro 10% 10%
Montserrat 10% 10%
Morocco 10% 10%
Mozambique 31% 16%
Namibia 42% 21%
Nauru 59% 30%
Nepal 10% 10%
New Zealand 20% 10%
Nicaragua 36% 18%
Niger 10% 10%
Nigeria 27% 14%
Norfolk Island 58% 29%
North Macedonia 65% 33%
Norway 30% 15%
Oman 10% 10%
Pakistan 58% 29%
Panama 10% 10%
Papua New Guinea 15% 10%
Paraguay 10% 10%
Peru 10% 10%
Philippines 34% 17%
Qatar 10% 10%
Reunion 73% 37%
Rwanda 10% 10%
Saint Elena 15% 10%
Saint Kitts and Nevis 10% 10%
Saint Lucia 10% 10%
Saint Pierre and Miquelon 99% 50%
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 10% 10%
Samoa 10% 10%
San Marino 10% 10%
São Tomé and Príncipe 10% 10%
Saudi Arabia 10% 10%
Senegal 10% 10%
Serbia 74% 37%
Sierra Leone 10% 10%
Singapore 10% 10%
Sint Maarten 10% 10%
Solomon Islands 10% 10%
South Africa 60% 30%
South Korea 50% 25%
South Sudan 10% 10%
Sri Lanka 88% 44%
Sudan 10% 10%
Suriname 10% 10%
Svalbard and Jan Mayen 10% 10%
Switzerland 61% 31%
Syria 81% 41%
Taiwan 64% 32%
Tajikistan 10% 10%
Tanzania 10% 10%
Thailand 72% 36%
Timor-Leste 10% 10%
Togo 10% 10%
Tokelau 10% 10%
Tonga 10% 10%
Trinidad and Tobago 12% 10%
Tunisia 55% 28%
Turkey 10% 10%
Turkmenistan 10% 10%
Turks and Caicos Islands 10% 10%
Tuvalu 10% 10%
Uganda 20% 10%
Ukraine 10% 10%
United Arab Emirates 10% 10%
United Kingdom 10% 10%
Uruguay 10% 10%
Uzbekistan 10% 10%
Vanuatu 44% 22%
Venezuela 29% 15%
Vietnam 90% 46%
Yemen 10% 10%
Zambia 33% 17%
Zimbabwe 35% 18%

What did poor Lesotho do to upset Donald Trump?

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By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse

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