Washington D.C., April 5 — In a sweeping new protectionist move, former U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed what his administration calls “reciprocal tariffs” on 20 African countries, with Lesotho bearing the brunt — a staggering 50% levy on its exports to the United States. The tariffs, which Trump claims are aimed at correcting trade imbalances and protecting American jobs, have sparked international backlash and concern over their potential impact on developing economies.
Signed via executive order on Thursday, the new trade penalties will take effect on Wednesday, April 9, and come on top of a 10% blanket tariff on most imports from countries worldwide, excluding a select group of goods such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, energy products, and certain raw materials not found in the U.S.
Lesotho: “Nobody’s Ever Heard Of It” Now Tops Tariff List
Lesotho, the tiny landlocked kingdom in Southern Africa that Trump once dismissed during a March 4 address to Congress as a place “nobody’s ever heard of,” now finds itself at the top of the tariff list. It surpasses Madagascar (47%), Mauritius (40%), Botswana (38%), Angola (32%), Libya (31%), and South Africa (31%).
Trade analysts say the blow to Lesotho could be devastating. Its economy is heavily dependent on textile exports to the United States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and over half its population lives on less than $3.65 a day, according to the World Bank.
“Nearly half of Lesotho’s exports are diamonds,” noted Sky News U.S. correspondent Mark Stone. “Is Trump’s sledgehammer approach going to conjure up a diamond industry in Pennsylvania?”
Trump’s Justification: “Decades of Taking Advantage”
The White House justified the new tariffs by citing what it calls long-standing trade abuses. “For generations, countries have taken advantage of the United States,” said the official statement. The administration cited South Africa’s import restrictions on U.S. pork and poultry as a key example of unfair treatment, claiming a 78% decline in American poultry exports to South Africa since 2019.
Trump’s trade team said tariffs were determined using a formula based on what it claims are the effective rates charged on U.S. exports by partner nations — a methodology widely criticized as flawed.
The Guardian and Sky News challenged the White House’s math, calling the data “Trump-defined” and “questionable.” The claim that Lesotho imposes a 99% tariff on U.S. goods was described as a “wild claim,” with critics pointing out the country is part of a Southern African customs union with much lower average tariffs.
Fallout and Fears of Retaliation
The administration has warned of further hikes if countries respond with retaliatory tariffs. In the meantime, nations like Nigeria (14%), Cameroon (12%), and the Democratic Republic of Congo (11%) are bracing for the economic consequences. Other heavily affected countries include Algeria (30%), Tunisia (28%), Namibia and Côte d’Ivoire (21%), Zimbabwe (18%), and Malawi and Zambia (17%).
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick added fuel to the fire on Thursday, mocking European food safety laws. “The European Union won’t take chicken from America. They hate our beef, because our beef is beautiful and theirs is weak,” he said — a statement that triggered a wave of ridicule and memes online.
Diplomatic and Economic Ripples
The move risks unraveling key trade relationships built under AGOA, which has offered duty-free access to U.S. markets for over two decades and supported hundreds of thousands of jobs across Africa.
“This is a heavy-handed policy that ignores the fragile economic realities in Africa,” said an international trade official in Geneva. “It risks pushing already vulnerable countries into further instability.”
With tensions rising and trade partners weighing their responses, experts warn the global economy could once again be entering a new chapter of trade wars.