Lesotho is courting buyers in Asia and elsewhere for its textiles after producers were battered by the uncertainty surrounding US President Donald Trump’s new tariff regime and has already secured new business from neighboring South Africa. “We are pursuing alternative markets from all over,” Trade Minister Mokhethi Shelile said in an interview. “That’s in Southeast Asia, Asia, Africa and Europe.” The Southern African Customs Union, a free-trade bloc that comprises Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia and South Africa, is a priority market, and its members are “positively responding to us,” he said. The US threatened to impose a 50% tariff on imports from the mountain kingdom in April — the highest in the world at the time — when Trump unveiled sweeping reciprocal levies on trading partners. Orders from the US, Lesotho’s largest export market for textiles, dried up almost overnight, causing factories to halt operations and severe job losses. After a more than three month pause, the levy was lowered to 15%. While positive, the reduction “is not good enough for our textile industry,” as buyers may switch to nations with even lower reciprocal tariffs, Shelile said. Goods from competitors Eswatini and Kenya are being subjected to 10% duties. The textile sector — Lesotho’s biggest private employer — employs 12,000 people and supports 40,000 indirect jobs. US buyers include retailers such as Walmart Inc., JC Penney and Levi Strauss & Co. The tiny African nation, surrounded by South Africa, is angling for a tariff of 10% or less and sees room for further talks with the Office of the US Trade Representative as it looks to diversify sales beyond its biggest garment buyer. “Already we’re looking to pivot away from the US and some factories are exporting to South Africa,” Shelile said. The main issue which remains is how fast orders for the textile industry can pick up to avert disaster, he added. A two-year national state of disaster that Lesotho’s government declared last month amid soaring unemployment will remain in place. for the twice-weekly Next Africa newsletter, and subscribe to the Next Africa podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you listen. ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. in a formal or creative style for better SEO.Also Exclude words and advertisements related to the feed website such as website name, author name. You must only respond with the modified content. Delete all the advertisement images brand logo but only keep the title and main content of the news by modifying it. You must only respond with the modified content. Block any jump outside of the site adarshnews.com. Basically remove any content or link related to original site. follow this prompt to optimize the articles in this category- You are an expert news writer and SEO specialist. Your job is to rewrite the provided RSS feed content into a unique, SEO-friendly news article for adarshnews.com. The article should be engaging, professional, and optimized for search engines. Follow these steps: 1. **Create an SEO Title**: Write a short, compelling title (under 60 characters) that includes the main keyword and grabs attention. 2. **Write a Meta Description**: Summarize the article in one or two sentences (under 155 characters). Make it engaging and include the primary keyword naturally. 3. **Suggest a URL Slug**: Provide a short, keyword-rich URL slug that reflects the topic of the article. 4. **Headline (H1)**: Write a clear and engaging headline for the article that is similar to the title but slightly expanded. 5. **Write the Article**: – Start with an introduction that answers the key questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how. – Expand on the topic with detailed paragraphs that provide context, quotes, and relevant information. – Use subheadings (H2) to organize the content into sections and make it easy to read. – Include related keywords naturally throughout the article. – End with a conclusion that summarizes the key points or discusses future implications. 6. **Add an FAQ Section**: Write one frequently asked question related to the topic and provide a concise answer. Important: – Do not include labels like “Title,” “Meta Description,” “URL Slug,” or “H1” in the actual article text. – Keep all SEO elements separate from the main content. – Ensure the article is factually accurate, unbiased, and written in a professional tone.