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Reginald Molibeli, recently arrived counselor at Lesotho’s stately US outpost, faces a difficult role after President Donald Trump insulted the African kingdom as “a place nobody has ever heard of” during a recent address to the Congress.
According to a Washington Post report, the remark, which drew laughter, was made as Trump announced cuts to US aid for the impoverished nation of 2.3 million people.
Then, on Wednesday, Trump imposed tariffs on Lesotho that economists predict could cripple its developing economy and cost tens of thousands of jobs.
While neighboring countries in southern Africa are also facing tariffs ranging from 10% to 37%, Lesotho was hit the hardest with a staggering 50%.
These tariffs threaten to devastate the country’s emerging textile industry, which supplies brands like Levi’s jeans and even Trump-branded golf shirts sold in the US, reported The Washington Post.
“We came up tops!” The Washington Post quoted Molibeli as saying as he smiled sitting on a sofa in his embassy’s first-floor room.
Lesotho’s ambassador, Tumisang Mosotho, is currently out of the US, which makes Molibeli,
for the moment, his country’s top official here — a job that has grown fraught in the past few weeks.
“It’s not very easy, yeah?” Molibeli, a seasoned diplomat who previously served his country in Denmark and India, told the Washington Post.
“But we are not regarding this as a punishment. It’s just a matter of numbers and some issues that need to be ironed out between the two friends,” he added.
Lesotho, one of only three sovereign enclaves globally and slightly larger than Massachusetts, has long enjoyed a strong friendship with the US and has been seen as a model for US-Africa relations and HIV/AIDS prevention.
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As Canada becomes an adversary and Europe is sidelined, Lesotho’s leaders are urgently seeking ways to restore relations with the US.
A delegation is set to negotiate with the State Department this week, with the survival of their economy at stake, reported The Washington Post.
“Massive loss of jobs. Massive loss of lots of jobs for our locals there, and de-investment, and loss of revenue for the government,” Molibeli was quoted as saying.
“But you know, Americans are not cruel people,” he continued.
“They are good people. They have good hearts. It’s one of those changes that we are pretty confident that with time, things will stabilise, and things will get back to normal,” he added.
Lesotho made headlines last month following Trump’s address to Congress, where he highlighted “appalling waste” in foreign aid, mentioning “$8 million to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of.”
Molibeli was taken aback to hear his country’s name in such a prominent context and was confused about the programme Trump referenced, which Lesotho denies being involved in.
“We were just taken aback a little,” Molibeli said.
In response, Lesotho’s foreign minister invited Trump to visit the country for clarification, though the White House has not commented on the invitation.
Minister Lejone Mpotjoane expressed he was “shocked and embarrassed” by Trump’s remarks, a sentiment echoed by a former US diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from Trump.
“I was surprised and disappointed,” The Washington Post quoted the US diplomat as saying.
“To say it in this mocking way when these are very proud people. They like Americans. And they have done so much in a very poor country to improve their own lives, working with us. It was really unfortunate,” added the diplomat.
The tariff rates, meanwhile, are largely influenced by trade deficits, which reflect the disparity between US imports and exports. In 2024, the US imported $237 million in goods from Lesotho while exporting less than $3 million.
According to The Washington Post report, Trump views this trade deficit as unfair, but experts argue it’s a success story stemming from the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which allows sub-Saharan nations to export certain goods to the US duty-free.
Lesotho has capitalised on this, becoming a textile hub with over 30,000 workers, primarily women.
Major US brands, including Levi’s and Gap, source products from Lesotho, including Trump-branded golf shirts that are still available on eBay with labels reading “Made in Lesotho,” added the report.
“The irony is … Lesotho took full advantage of something that we offered,” The Washington Post report quoted the senior US diplomat as saying of the legislation passed by Congress in 2000.
“And so now, to punish them for that is really, really unfortunate and shortsighted,” he added.
Trump administration officials have said that the US government should prioritise American jobs over preserving factories abroad. They argue that the tariffs will boost investment in US manufacturing, creating more opportunities for American workers.
However, Witney Schneidman, a former diplomat and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told The Washington Post that the tariffs on Lesotho could also negatively impact American jobs.
“Lesotho was exporting apparel to the United States — through Levi’s being sold in Walmart, at Target — and Levi creating jobs for Americans who need to reach American
consumers," he said.
Cutting that off, he added, will raise prices, depress sales and prompt retail layoffs.
As for the other side of the trade deficit: It’s difficult to ship to landlocked Lesotho. The small population does not amount to a large consumer market. And a significant proportion of its residents live near the poverty line. They can’t afford American goods.
“It’s hard to make the case that Lesotho is treating American exports in a grossly unfair manner,” The Washington Post quoted Andrew Wilson, deputy secretary general of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, as saying.
Inside Lesotho’s pale-brick embassy, Molibeli is busy with phone calls, video meetings, and strategy sessions as allies discuss responses to recent developments.
Senior officials are preparing for an emergency trip to Washington, but scheduling meetings with the State Department is challenging amid high demand from other countries.
Despite this, Molibeli remains optimistic that dialogue will lead to mutual understanding. He notes that increased attention on Lesotho, known as the “Kingdom in the Sky,” could also boost tourism.
“What is important is we treat the US as our partners,” Molibeli was quoted as saying.
“And then it will be like talking to your friend,” he added.
With inputs from agencies
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