that the country's exports to the US would be hit by a 50 percent import tax, or tariff.

Teboho Kobeli, who founded Afri-Expo Textiles and employs 2,000 people in the country, could barely disguise his distress as he told the BBC about the impact of potentially losing a huge chunk of the US market because the prices of his goods will have to increase. The small southern African nation has become the poster child for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) – a 25-year-old piece of US legislation guaranteeing duty-free access to American consumers for certain goods from Africa.

Considered the cornerstone of US-Africa economic relations, the aim was to help industrialise the continent, create employment and lift dozens of countries out of poverty. It was based on a philosophy of replacing aid with trade. The act's overall impact is debatable but it has been credited with creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, particularly in the textiles sector. Though President Donald Trump did not mention it by name, Agoa's status is now uncertain. (BBC/AFP)