Lesotho sends team to US over 'shocking' Trump's tariffs

Lesotho scrambled to put together a delegation on Friday to head to Washington to engage with the United States on tariffs that risk wiping out nearly half of its exports, its trade minister said, in what could be a death blow to its economy.

The 50% reciprocal trade tariff on the southern African mountain kingdom was the highest levy on US President Donald Trump's list of target economies.

"The latest policy direction undertaken by the United States is shocking ... as (it) ... has been a very important market for Lesotho," Trade Minister Mokhethi Shelile told parliament on Friday, adding that the 45% of exports went to the United States.

He said that officials had already engaged the US embassy "to clarify and how, why Lesotho was included in the list of ... such high reciprocal tariffs". Last month, Donald Trump sparked a backlash after labelling Lesotho a country ’’nobody has ever heard of.’’

High-level delegation

Trump on Wednesday hit America's global trading partners with tariffs, upending decades of rules-based trade that campaigners have long said is exceptionally favourable to rich countries like the United States.

Lesotho's exports to the United States, mostly textiles for popular brands such as Levis, added up to $237 million in 2024 and account for more than a tenth of its GDP.

"Lesotho is also assembling a high-level delegation to the United States to try to maintain the current market dispensation," Shelile said.