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

‘The pressure is too much’: Lesotho’s garment workers on the frontline of Trump tariffs

Workers sit at sewing machines stitching fabrics together.
The factory floor of Ever Successful Textiles in Lesotho’s capital, Maseru. There are about 36,000 textile workers in the country. Photograph: Kate Ochsman/The Guardian

Every morning at 7am, women gather outside clothing factories in Maseru, the capital of the southern African mountain kingdom of Lesotho, hoping to be offered work. However, since Donald Trump imposed swingeing global tariffs in April 2025, those opportunities have been fewer and farther between.

Moleboheng Matsepe lost her full-time job sewing sports leggings for the California brand Fabletics in 2023. She was initially able to pick up three-month contracts, but has not had any work since September.

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