Report on Government Responses to New post-MFA realities in Lesotho

In the short space of five years, Lesotho’s clothing industry grew from six factories to 40, from exporting $140 million worth of garments in 2000 to $391 million in 2005. The duty-free privileges, and at the time the quota-free privileges as well, offered under the United States’ AGOA regime attracted investors from Asia and South Africa and sparked the dramatic rise in garment factories, employment in those factories, and exports. However, a change in the international conditions in the garment industry and a significant appreciation of the currency have caused the industry to contract.