MASERU – Lesotho will suffer from Donald Trump’s aid cuts, and stands to lose up to 40 000 jobs if the United States  (US) president cancels a trade pact granting duty-free access to the American market, the monarch of the tiny southern African kingdom warned ahead of a trip to Europe yesterday.

Entirely surrounded by South Africa, Lesotho is heavily-reliant on exports and foreign aid to fund its US$2 billion gross domestic product.

“If the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is terminated, it will have an immediate impact on the economy because it could mean the loss of jobs for 30 000 to 40 000 people,” King Letsie III told AFP in his palace in Matsieng, some 45 kilometres from the capital Maseru. “It’s a worrying thing – but if it happens, we’ll have to deal with it,” he said. Enacted in 2000, the AGOA provides duty-free access for some products from about 30 sub-Saharan countries.

It is due for renewal in September.

Many are questioning its fate after the blitz of trade policy changes since the return of Trump to the White House.

The poor nation of about 2.3 million people has one of the highest rates of HIV in the world, and is already reeling from a freeze to US funding of its healthcare.

The US has committed more than US$630 million since 2006 to anti-HIV/AIDS efforts in Lesotho, the US embassy revealed. Trump kicked up a diplomatic storm earlier this month when he defended the cuts to Lesotho, saying it was a country “nobody has ever heard of”.

“I was a little bit upset,” said Letsie III, who has no formal power.

“We have enjoyed very warm relations with the US and the people,” he said, vowing to use the publicity from Trump’s mockery to promote the country known for its beautiful mountainous terrain.

Letsie III was to travel to France yesterday to meet president Emmanuel Macron. He is later expected to participate in a nutrition summit to round up the Europe trip at the weekend.  

– Nampa/AFP