Even penguins are not exempt from tariffs! Trump imposes measures on uninhabited islands near Antarctica
A group of uninhabited volcanic islands near Antarctica, covered in glaciers and home to many penguins, have been caught up in Donald Trump's trade war. The US president has hit the islands with a 10% tariff on goods.
Heard Island and the McDonald Islands, which form an external territory of Australia, are among the most remote places on earth, accessible only by a two-week boat trip from Perth on Australia's west coast. They are completely uninhabited, with the last visit by humans believed to be nearly 10 years ago.
However, the islands appeared on a list released by the White House of "countries" that would be hit with new trade tariffs. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that "No place on earth is safe."
Heard Island and McDonald Islands are among several "external territories" of Australia listed separately on Australia's tariff schedule, which will pay a 10% tariff on its goods.
The external territories are part of Australia and not self-governing, but have a unique relationship with the federal government. Such places featured on the White House list were Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island and Norfolk Island.
The latter has a population of 2,188 and lies 1,600 km northeast of Sydney, was "punished" with a rate of 29%, 19 percentage points more than the rest of Australia.
In 2023, Norfolk Island exported $655,000 worth of goods to the US, with the main export being leather shoes worth $413,000, according to data from the Economic Complexity Observatory.
Albanese said that "Norfolk Island has a 29% tariff. I'm not entirely sure that it is a trade competitor with the giant economy of the United States, but it just illustrates the fact that nowhere on earth is safe from this situation."
The export figures from Heard Island and McDonald Islands are even more surprising. The territory has a fishing ground, but no buildings or human settlements.
Despite this, according to export data from the World Bank, the US imported $1.4 million worth of products from these islands in 2022, almost all of which were “machinery and electrical imports.”
In the previous five years, imports from these islands ranged from US$15,000 to US$325,000 per year.
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