Botha-Bothe, Oct. 10 — Lesotho is actively striving to secure an extension of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), scheduled to expire in September 2025.
According to Ms. Tiisetso Moremoho, the Public Relations Manager at Lesotho National Development Cooperation (LNDC), there is uncertainty surrounding the potential renewal of AGOA, which is impacting the volume of orders from the United States. This uncertainty has led to US buyers hesitating to place significant orders while awaiting AGOA’s fate. This hesitation has intensified competition for Lesotho’s exporters, especially with countries that can still access the US market under the Generalized System Preferences (GSP), even without AGOA.
Ms. Moremoho highlighted that Lesotho currently has twenty-two companies benefiting from AGOA market privileges. However, Lesotho has experienced a decrease in order volumes from the US due to economic shocks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
