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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Rachel Savage in Johannesburg and Majirata Latela in Maseru

‘Only job I know’: tiny Lesotho’s garment workers reel from Trump’s 50% tariffs

Garment workers in a factory at sewing machines
There are about 30,000 garment workers in Lesotho, mostly women, with 12,000 making clothes for US brands in Chinese- and Taiwanese-owned factories. Photograph: Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters

The day after Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs, Lesotho’s garment workers feared for their jobs.

Last year, Lesotho sent about 20% of its $1.1bn (£845m) of exports to the US, most of it clothing under a continent-wide trade agreement meant to help African countries’ development via tariff-free exports, as well as diamonds.

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