Maseru, Apr. 04 — Former Lesotho Institute of Accountants (LIA) President Mr. Lefu Mokaoane says the imposition of a 50 percent reciprocal tariff by the U.S. on Lesotho’s exports to the United States is going to hit hard on the country.
On Wednesday U.S. President Donald Trump announced as part of a broader series of tariffs targeting multiple countries including Lesotho. President Trump introduced the 10 percent baseline tariff on all goods imported to the U.S. which will be effective by April 05 while the reciprocal tariffs are set to begin on April 09.
He said this could have significant economic implications for Lesotho in various sectors including the textile industry which relies heavily on access to the U.S. market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
He said as of April 05 exports of diamonds and fish (trout) and some other electronic equipment and leather made products will take a knock due to the implementation of the baseline tariff. He said the mining sector as the country’s major economic contributor is going to be affected because the U.S. is their market. AT/TL
