We can only hope and pray that the expected dialogue between Lesotho and the US over the crippling reciprocal tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump proceeds this week.
The last meeting, which had been slated for April 24 2025, did not take place. This after US Trade representative, Jamieson Greer, and his executives were a no show in Pretoria, South Africa, where the talks had been scheduled to take place.
Needless to mention that such an undiplomatic snub remains a bad omen for Lesotho.
We can only hope that the talks now promised for this week, will now proceed.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Business Development, Mokhethi Shelile, has confirmed that Lesotho will be having a virtual meeting with the US in the coming days (he did not explicitly say the day and time).
If the talks indeed happen, we can only hope Lesotho makes a forceful case that the 50 percent reciprocal tariffs on this small Kingdom are not only unjustified, they are close to insane.
There is nothing to be gained by the United States from imposing such a hefty penalty on one of the world’s poorest countries.
If at all, the tariffs will only worsen poverty and unemployment in Lesotho. Apart from the textiles, the US buys nothing or very little else from Lesotho. Mr Trump’s tariffs hardly move a needle in terms of addressing the budget deficit he imagines. There is also no scope in Lesotho buying more things from the US. We are a small satellite economy of South Africa’s Free State and Kwazulu Natal Provinces.
Our whole economy represents a fraction of one of Elon Musk’s Tesla assembly plants in Texas. There is therefore nothing to be gained by America punishing an economic backwater like Lesotho. Even if we were allowed zero tariffs for all exports into the US, our contribution to the US trade deficit would remain so minute to even bother calculating.
The story has been well articulated that President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs disproportionately affect small economies like Lesotho’s, while contributing negligibly to the U.S. trade deficit. There is a growing consensus that exempting the world’s poorest nations from these tariffs could foster a more equitable global trade environment.
But in the world of Donald Trump, common sense is never any common. We should never take anything for granted. When Mr Shelile and his team engage the Americans, they will simply be pinpointing the obvious. However, they must not be shy to beg for Trump’s mercy. It is that mercy that Lesotho now desperately needs.
After all, we are a country, in the words of Mr Trump – that “nobody has ever heard of”. If we are so insignificant, then why punish us so harshly when what we need are tonnes of mercy?
Hopefully, Ntate Shelile and his team can make this point. But even more importantly, we hope the talks indeed take place. The contempt with which we were treated last month spelled a bad omen.
If the talks proceed, we can only hope and pray for the best. If Mr Trump and his acolytes refuse to show us mercy, then as has been argued before, we should not expend any more energy in trying to knock sense into the skull of the Trump administration. We better expend our energies elsewhere, in seeking other opportunities. After all, who said only America can save us and the world.
We have better partners in China, the European Union and others. Perhaps we must focus on engaging partners who respect us in place of those who have shown us unwavering contempt.
The fact that Lesotho tops the list of countries in which Mr Trump wants to close his country’s embassies proves that he has indeed never heard of us as a country. After all has been said and done, the question remains, why bother with a person and country that disrespects you so much.
If the upcoming talks fail, let’s not push things any further. Let’s concentrate on looking elsewhere for other partnerships and opportunities. It will be nice if Mr Trump shows mercy for a country that “nobody has ever heard of” despite his country being one of only a few that have maintained diplomatic missions here. But if he doesn’t, we insist that we shouldn’t beg him anymore. We can draw comfort from the fact that we won’t be the only ones hoping the next four years pass as fast as possible.