Lesotho - one of the world’s least developed countries, as classified by the United Nations - is facing steep hurdles now in its textile exports in the wake of U.S. sweeping “reciprocal tariffs.”
Lesotho’s economy heavily depends on textile exports, particularly to the United States.
But under the new tariff regime, its garments are now subject to a staggering 50-percent duty.
In the capital city Maseru, the founder of a major garment factory warned that the high tariffs will deliver a crippling blow to the country's already fragile economy.
"These tariffs come as a shock to us, to our business, to Lesotho as a country and its economy. No buyer will consider coming to Lesotho to put their orders on their tariff of 50 percent. So basically that means the business stops. We need to soldier on. We need to look for other markets," said Teboho Kobeli, founder and managing director of Afri Expo Textiles.
Workers have also voiced growing uncertainty about their future as the economic fallout begins to take hold.
"[There are] around 200 people that are sitting at home. That means they have families to feed. Some of them got five heads under them. So if one person that was waking is now unemployed, that means it's a disaster for the whole family and for us also the production, the income, because the minute the production declines, it means the income also," said Malerai Mosotho, production manager of the company.
"It has affected me negatively. I'm scared that I might lose my job because you know, if we are not able to export, that means there'll be no income and the prices are going higher each and every day for basic needs," said a worker of the factory.
Lesotho's textile industry reels from steep US tariffs
Lesotho's textile industry reels amid steep US tariffs
Life science experiments conducted onboard China's Tiangong space station will not only help experts to better protect the health of astronauts, but also provide vital new ideas for human disease treatment back on Earth, a Chinese researcher said in Beijing on Wednesday.
Pei Weiwei, an associate researcher at the State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection of Soochow University, was speaking after a special handover ceremony was held where scientists received the samples brought back by the Shenzhou-19 space mission, which landed earlier that day.
The mission's three crew members touched down safely at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region around Wednesday lunchtime, after their return had been postponed by a day due to unfavorable weather conditions on the ground.
During their six-month stay in space, Shenzhou-19 mission commander Cai Xuzhe, alongside young astronauts Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, who is also China's first female space engineer, carried out an extensive series of scientific experiments and medical tests to assess the impact of space travel on human health and on other living organisms.
The returned samples include bone cells, human induced pluripotent stem cells and human bronchial epithelial cells. Scientists will conduct molecular biology research on these key samples, assessing the effects of the zero-gravity environment on human tissues and the impact of space radiation, according to Pei.
"The carcinogenicity of space radiation has always been a focus of our research, and the epithelial cells of the lungs are the most susceptible to tumors. So we are studying the evolution of lung epithelial cells into tumor cells in space radiation and some of its mechanisms. Based on this data, we aim to establish a space radiation risk assessment system suitable for Chinese astronauts. At the same time, we hope to provide some theoretical support for radiation monitoring and a complete radiation protection system," he said.
Pei said that such experiments and related research will not only help protect the health of astronauts, but can also offer new ideas to human health problems back on Earth, such as the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. It will also provide a new theoretical basis and experimental support for exploring health problems such as osteoporosis, muscle atrophy and decreased cardiovascular function, he added.
Space life science mainly studies the responses and changes of life activities at all levels from biomolecules to organisms under conditions such as microgravity, space radiation, and sub-magnetism, as well as their combined conditions, and explores the deep mechanisms of life phenomena.
Space experiments can offer new approaches to tackling human health issues: expert
