Lesotho factory that made Trump shirts faces shutdown after U.S. tariffs

A factory in Lesotho, which used to produce Trump golf shirts, is on the brink of collapse after the U.S President imposed crushing tariffs on the small African nation.

Clothing manufacturer, Tzicc's, has seen orders drop after the President imposed a 50% tariff on Lesotho in April - more than almost all other countries.

Shortly after, Trump announced a three-month pause on tariffs to allow trade negotiations to take place, but maintained a baseline rate of 10%

"As soon as the tariffs were announced, we started having some problems with our buyers [...] So, as soon as the three-month suspension came, that's when we decided that, let's try to finish the work as soon as possible before the new tariffs are introduced", said Rahila Omar, compliance manager at Tzicc's.

Omar said that the factory rushed to deliver orders before tariffs were reintroduced, but that U.S customers were hesitant to make new purchases.

With no more work left to be done, nearly all 1300 employees were sent home indefinitely to the detriment of workers' economic survival.

“Life is difficult, it has not been easy ever since I was laid off work. My husband is also struggling, he is in between piece jobs", Mapontso Mathunya, former textile factory worker, told AP.

Omar is one of a handful of employees left in the quiet factory. A few remain in the accounting department; others empty leftover stock into a warehouse elsewhere.

Officials and workers fear that the hardship facing Tzicc's is a bad sign of what's to come for other factories in Lesotho, where poverty is widespread and upwards of 30,000 people are employed in the textile industry.

Trump said that he imposed the tariffs in April because of a trade imbalance between the U.S and Lesotho, but that explanation baffles Mokhethi Shelile, Minister of Trade, Industry and Small Business:

"Lesotho is a very small economy. The trade deficit that exists between Lesotho and the US is a natural trade deficit that can occur when there are such disparities between two economies. It cannot be bridged and certainly cannot be bridged by imposing tariffs".

He added that tariffs will make it difficult for the country to get foreign exchange to buy more products from the US.

Trump is set to announce new tariff rates for Lesotho and many other trading partners when the deadline for negotiations ends on Friday August 1st.