"Has Lesotho’s Tariff Relief Missed the Window?", 4 August 2026

While goods from [Lesotho] have started entering the United States duty-free following the expiration of President Donald Trump’s temporary 10 percent global tariff regime...Lesotho’s former “reciprocal” 50 percent rate may have already taken a toll, insiders say.

“Things are not well in the country; the damage is already done,” said Solong Senohe, secretary-general of the United Textile Employees Union, or UNITE. “Working conditions are deteriorating as companies...are taking advantage of the situation. Some workers are being forced to work unpaid overtime, and some are dismissed for being union members.”

Still not helping, Senohe said, is the volatile status of the African Growth and Opportunity Act...

Congress’s retroactive extension of AGOA...did little to stabilize Lesotho’s garment sector...because the narrow time window undercut the long-term planning global fashion supply chains require. The move was also largely moot: When the Trump administration enacted its flat 10 percent import surcharge under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act in February...it also effectively nullified AGOA’s zero-tariff benefits.

“There are orders, but they are in small quantities,” said Lieketseng Leteka, project coordinator for the Sub-Saharan Region for IndustriALL Global Union and legal representative for the Independent Democratic Union of Lesotho. “Buyers are hesitant to place orders in large quantities mainly because they are not certain what will take place in September regarding AGOA.”

Reduced shifts and temporary “no work, no pay” furlough...soon gave way to more permanent layoffs. Reports from labor groups and a Lesotho government survey confirmed that several major operations had ceased production altogether...