"'How will we survive?' Lesotho factory that made Trump golf shirts hit hard by US tariffs", 29 July 2025

A garment factory in Lesotho, which has produced Trump-branded golf shirts, may have to soon shut down following the massive import taxes, or tariffs, imposed by the US government earlier this year.

The...African kingdom was hit with "reciprocal" tariffs of 50%...

"We don't know how we survive this one. We are going to die," Aletta Seleso tells the BBC in a bleak voice standing outside Precious Garments, where the Trump golf shirts have been made...

The country's garment factories also produce jeans for...brands such as Levi's and Wrangler.

But the uncertainty over the future of the country's clothes industry is one reason why Lesotho declared a national "state of disaster" earlier this month in order to speed up job-creation.

Aletta Seleso...says workers have been told that the firm "can close any time from now"...

...Ms Seleso and her colleagues have been told to work for two weeks a month, meaning they get just half the pay...

The BBC has approached Precious Garments for comment.

...Sam Mokhele, the secretary general of one the unions representing 150 workers at the firm, says the company had not "indicated any sign of shutting down" at the moment.

"But what they said was [they may have to] shut down if things do not change," he says...

On the other side of town, in Maseru's Thetsane industrial site, dozens of desperate job seekers gather outside another garment factory, CGM.

The factory, one half of the CGM Presitex Jeans Manufacturer, has closed but there have been rumours it may soon reopen...

...Puleng Selane...has been job-hunting since March.

The young woman now relies on the sale of medical face masks to support her family...

"Now life is so hard... we often eat once a day but sometimes go to bed without any food," she says...

Although the 50% tariff has been paused, Lesotho's exports to the US are still subject to a 10% tax, like the rest of the world...

TZICC, owned by a Taiwanese national, has been operational in Lesotho since 1999, producing sportswear for the likes of JC Penney, Walmart and Costco...

A manager at the firm, Rahila Omar, says the company's 1,000 employees, mostly women, have been laid off for the next four months due to a halt in orders.

"Because of the... pressure of the tariffs, our buyers wanted us to finish the order or the quantity as soon as we can. We were given a deadline of 30 June, but we finished before 30 June, and that's why we have a layoff," she says.

Ms Omar says TZICC is waiting for an update on Agoa and whether the current tariff structure would be reviewed before deciding on the next step. Even if the current 10% tax remained, without Agoa, it would not be enough for the firm to reopen as there would be "some additional charges" to consider, she explains.

And while the factory also supplies clothing to South African retailers, Ms Omar says the income generated from these pales in comparison to what the firm earns from the US market...