Among the countries and territories hit by Mr Trump’s tariffs are Heard Island and the McDonald Islands, which are home to only penguins and are uninhabited.
According to the Wall Street Journal , on April 2 (local time), US President Donald Trump announced a general tariff of 10% on imported goods from all countries and territories.
Among the places taxed are Heard Island and the McDonald Islands, Australian territories in the South Atlantic. This is one of the most remote places in the world, located in the middle of the ocean and just 1,680km from Antarctica.
The special thing about this island is that it is… uninhabited. The only “inhabitants” here are a colony of penguins . This has started a series of jokes online that Mr. Trump is now taxing… penguins “selling fish to the US”.
On social network X, the account @anaweeese posted an image with the sarcastic content: “Breaking news: Prime Minister Larry the Penguin will give a speech tomorrow morning about whether the penguins of Heard Island and McDonald Islands are preparing for war with the US, following Mr. Trump’s unprovoked ‘economic attacks’ on peaceful penguin nations.”
Trump’s sarcastic post about taxing an uninhabited territory inhabited only by penguins on social media X
In addition to Heard Island and McDonald Islands, the Trump administration has also imposed heavy taxes on another Australian territory, which surprised Canberra.
It is Norfolk Island, located about 1,600km off the east coast of Australia. This is a subtropical territory with a population of only about 2,200 people.
Despite its remote location and extremely small population, the island is subject to a reciprocal tax rate of up to 29%. This is three times higher than the Australian tax rate of just 10%.
The tariffs on the two territories surprised Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese . “I cannot understand how Norfolk Island can be a trade competitor to a giant economy like the United States,” he said. “But I think this is a prime example of the fact that there is no place on Earth that is exempt from this.”
The White House’s table of reciprocal tax rates for countries and territories, clearly showing that Norfolk Island is taxed at 29%, while Heard Island and McDonald Islands are taxed at 10% – Photo: X/White House
There is no data on Norfolk Island’s exports. A report by the Norfolk Island Regional Council puts the island’s total exports to the US at $270,000 in 2022.
