00:01As Trump's tariff deadline looms, one of his own clothing manufacturers in Lesotho is hit hard.
00:08The factory, which used to produce Trump-branded golf shirts, has seen orders drop after the president imposed a 50% tariff on Lesotho in April.
00:18They put the wrong tag on the wrong spot.
00:21As soon as the tariffs were announced, we started having some problems with our buyers.
00:27We were like on and off. There was no proper, let's say, we didn't know where we were standing.
00:33So as soon as the three months suspension came, that's where we decided that let's try to finish the work as soon as possible before the new tariffs are introduced.
00:45That's what we were told. And the work, luckily we finished, well unfortunately we finished way before time and that is why now we don't have any work.
00:53When Trump announced a month-long tariff pause, the factory rushed to deliver pre-existing orders.
01:00But with no new orders coming in, all employees were sent home.
01:04I'm the breadwinner in my family. I have two children that are currently in school.
01:10One is in preschool and another is in primary school, during grade 7.
01:13Life is difficult. It has not been easy ever since I was laid off work.
01:19My husband is also struggling. He is in between peace jobs.
01:24Trump said that he imposed the tariffs in April because of a trade imbalance between the US and Lesotho.
01:30But that explanation baffles the government of the small African nation.
01:36Lesotho is a very small economy.
01:39The trade deficit that exists between Lesotho and the US, it's a natural trade deficit that can happen when you have this type of disparities between two economies.
01:52It cannot be breached and certainly cannot be breached by imposing tariffs because the same tariffs, they are inevitably going to make it difficult for us to get foreign exchange that we can use to buy more stuff from the US.
02:09Known as the denim capital of Africa, textile manufacturing is the largest private industry in Lesotho, employing more than 30,000 workers.
02:19Trump is set to announce new tariff rates for Lesotho and many other trading partners when the deadline for negotiations ends on Friday.
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