The uninhabited volcanic islands near Antarctica, covered in glaciers and known as penguin habitat, are also among the areas affected by the new tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump. About this informs The Guardian.
Heard and MacDonald Islands, which are external territories of Australia, were included in the list subject to 10% tariffs. These islands are considered one of the most remote places on the planet – you can only get there by sea from Perth, and such a trip takes two weeks. The area is uninhabited and is estimated to have been last visited by humans about ten years ago. Currently, only penguins live there.
Despite the lack of population and buildings, according to the World Bank, in 2022, the United States imported goods from these territories worth $1.4 million, almost all of which were “machines and electrical equipment.” Journalists could not find out exactly what these goods were. In the previous five years, the volume of imports from these islands ranged from 15 thousand to 325 thousand dollars per year.
Along with them, this list includes other Australian outer territories, including the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island and Norfolk Island. For the latter, where about 2,188 people live, the tariff is set at the level of 29%. According to 2023 data, Norfolk Island exported $655,000 worth of goods to the United States, the main category of which was leather shoes.
At the same time, the island’s administrator, George Plant, denied these figures:
“There are no records of exports from Norfolk Island to the United States, and there are no tariffs or known non-tariff trade barriers on goods entering Norfolk Island.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed surprise at the inclusion of external territories on the list to be targeted by Trump’s tariffs.
“There will be a 29% tariff for Norfolk Island. I’m not entirely sure that Norfolk Island is a trade competitor to the giant economy of the United States, but it just goes to show and illustrate the fact that nowhere on Earth is immune to it.”, – noted Albanese.
