The closure of a factory in the small southern African nation of Lesotho is an early effect of the global disruption caused by President Trump’s tariffs. John Eligon, the Johannesburg bureau chief for The New York Times, talks with Katrin Bennhold, a senior writer, about what he has seen there.

The president backed off his call for a 50 percent tariff on Lesotho, imposing 15 percent instead. But in a country where most people live hand-to-mouth, the damage was already done.

© Joao Silva/The New York Times