US Edition'A country nobody has ever heard of': Trump’s remark alarms Lesotho workers
- Amidst sweltering conditions, over 35,000 workers in Lesotho's clothing factories, the nation's largest employer, are producing jeans destined for the global market.
- Lesotho, a small mountain kingdom with a $2 billion GDP and a population of 2.3 million, heavily relies on textile exports to the United States, shipped under the African Growth and Opportunity Act .
- In 2024, the textiles industry in Lesotho shed more than 1,800 jobs after five companies ceased operations due to reduced demand from the United States, contributing to an unemployment rate of nearly 25 percent.
- US President Donald Trump's dismissive comments, calling Lesotho 'a country nobody has ever heard of' before US Congress, and his defense of aid cuts, have sparked uncertainty and concern among the Lesotho population, including workers like Motlatsi Marou and managers like Malerai Snay Mosotho.
- King Letsie III warned that terminating AGOA, which is due for renewal in September and provides duty-free access to the US market, could have an immediate and profound impact on Lesotho's economy, potentially resulting in the loss of 30,000 to 40,000 jobs, while locals like Maleshoane Mokhaji assert that Africa can survive without US dollars and should explore untapped markets.
47 Articles
47 Articles
'A country nobody has ever heard of': Trump’s remark alarms Lesotho workers
Growing concerns among businesses and residents in Lesotho over the fate of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a key US-Africa trade deal up for renewal this year. It provides duty-free access for certain products from about 30 sub-Saharan African countries. On March 4, US President Donald Trump called the tiny landlocked kingdom 'a country no one has heard of.'
NE Iowa Publishing
Lesotho fears Trump shake-up could tear threadbare economy
In a sweltering factory in Lesotho, rows of workers hunch over thrumming sewing machines churning out piles of jeans for the global market from a country that US President Donald Trump has mocked as unknown.
Lesotho's king warns nation will reel from Donald Trump aid cuts
Lesotho will suffer from Donald Trump’s aid cuts and stands to lose up to 40 000 jobs if the US president also cancels a trade pact granting duty-free access to the American market, the monarch of the tiny southern African kingdom warned ahead of a trip to Europe on Wednesday. RELATED | Donald Trump jokes ‘nobody has heard’ of Lesotho Entirely surrounded by South Africa, Lesotho is heavily reliant on exports and foreign aid to fund its $2 billio…
The Delta News
Lesotho's king warns nation will reel from Trump cuts
Lesotho will suffer from Donald Trump's aid cuts and stands to lose up to 40,000 jobs if the US president also cancels a trade pact granting duty-free access to the American market, the monarch of the tiny southern African kingdom…
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