Penguins under tariff? Trump’s 10% levy on empty island sparks confusion

Trump’s Tariffs Reach the Penguins

In a surprising twist, President Donald Trump’s latest tariff policy targets over 180 countries—including a remote group of islands inhabited only by penguins. Has Trump’s trade war reached the penguins?

Apart from imposing a baseline 10 per cent tariff on all trade partners, the Trump administration's list also included the uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean. Yes, no one lives there.

The CIA World Factbook describes the uninhabited islands, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as “80% ice-covered” and “bleak” in the case of Heard Island and the McDonald Islands as “small” and “rocky.”

The islands were included because they were Australian territory, Axios reported citing a White House official. These islands are home to active volcanoes and various marine animals but have no human inhabitants. The last recorded human visit was nearly a decade ago, according to reports.

This Australian territory has zero percent human presence with colonies of seals and penguins inhibiting the region. Accessible only by two-week boat journey from Perth, the last time these volcanic islands saw a human was almost a decade ago.

Reacting to Trump's new trade policy Australian Prime Minister said, “Nowhere on earth is safe.” He pointed out that Norfolk Island, another Australian territory with about 2,000 residents, was hit with a 29% tariff.

Not only these barren islands, two remote Norwegian territories - Jan Mayen and Svalbard – that have a total population of roughly 2,500 people is also part of the Trump’s tariff list.

A Guardian report, citing World Bank data, reveals that the U.S. imported $1.4 million worth of goods from Heard Island and McDonald Islands—a place with no human inhabitants. The real mystery? What exactly were these "machinery and electrical" imports coming from a land of nothing but ice and penguins?