Lesotho has yet to respond to the move, although neighboring South Africa says the “punitive” measure serves as a barrier to trade
US President Donald Trump has targeted several African countries in his latest round of sweeping tariffs. Lesotho, which the American leader recently referred to as a nation “nobody has ever heard of,” has been hit with the highest levy of 50%.
On Wednesday, Trump announced a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the US, which will go into effect on April 5. He also introduced global “reciprocal tariffs” as part of his “Liberation Day” plan aimed at addressing trade imbalances. The president has accused foreign nations of abusing the openness of the US market and “ripping off” the American people.
Lesotho, a small mountainous Southern African kingdom of about 2 million people, is one of about 20 countries on the continent affected by the new measure. Madagascar has been hit with 47%, Mauritius 40%, Botswana 37%, Angola 32%, and Algeria 30%. Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) have been hit with the highest import duties among West African countries, at 14% and 24%, respectively. Their neighbors, Ghana, Senegal, and Liberia, are subject to the baseline tariff of 10%. Goods from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda are also under a 10% US levy.
South Africa, on which Trump placed a 30% rate, responded by expressing concern about the “unilaterally imposed and punitive tariffs,” arguing that they “serve as a barrier to trade and shared prosperity.”
“The tariffs affirm the urgency to negotiate a new bilateral and mutually beneficial trade agreement with the US, as an essential step to secure long-term trade certainty,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement on Thursday.
Lesotho has yet to officially respond to Washington’s decision. The kingdom constitutes a group of more than 30 Sub-Saharan African states that benefit from duty-free access to the US market for over 1,800 products under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). According to official data, the country imported around $2.8 million in American goods in 2024 and exported goods worth $237 million to the US during the same period.
