ASIA, THE NEXT DETROIT (via Tom Morin):

Taiwanese rag trade has Lesotho all stitched up: Pegged currency squeezes producers' margins, but US Agoa law makes the garment business in Maseru worthwhile (Financial Times, 9/15/04)

EVERY weekday, whatever the weather, hundreds of people flock to the factory gates of Ha Thetsane in search of work. The congested industrial zone in Maseru, Lesotho's capital, houses one of Africa's biggest clusters of textile and garment factories.

Nearly all are Taiwanese owned and export their wares to the US. Some labour and environmental activists have complained about the plants' pollution levels and labour practices.

But for most people in the landlocked kingdom, a job cutting or sewing denim destined for US stores is a prized position.

"I'm happy with my job," says Makananelo Mokotoi, a mother of three who earns just more than 100 a month sewing together panels for overalls.

The textile industry has transformed Lesotho in just a few years. The country benefits from the US's African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), that exempts some clothing made in the continent's poorest countries from strict duties and quotas.

Tough Asian competitors could easily undercut even dirtpoor Lesotho on price, but Agoa's preferential US market access gives its manufacturers an edge.

So Asia has come to Lesotho instead.