On Thursday, the world was shaken by the news that US President Donald Trump introduced new tariffs on goods imported into the US. It also affected penguins on Heard and McDonald Islands
Among the territories for which new ones were introduced carine, there was also a group of barren, uninhabited volcanic islands nearby Antarktika.
Heard and McDonald Islands, which make up Australia's outermost territory, are among the most remote places on earth, accessible only by a two-week boat trip from Perth on Australia's west coast. The islands are about 4.100 kilometers south-west of Perth and 1.630 kilometers north of Antarctica, and there is an ice-capped volcano on Herd.
They are completely uninhabited, and the last human foot stepped on them almost 10 years ago. The islands are one of the most remote places on Earth and have no permanent inhabitants, but they are home to a large number of penguins, seals and seabirds.
However, Heard and MacDonald Islands are on the list of "countries" that will face increased tariffs announced by the White House.
According to the World Bank, the European Union already applies tariffs to these islands.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on that occasion that "nowhere on earth is safe anymore."
Uninhabited islands on Trump's tariff list
Heard Island and McDonald Islands are among several Australian "external territories" specifically listed on Australia's tariff list, which will see a 10 per cent tariff on goods.
The Outer Territories are part of Australia and are not self-governing, but have a unique relationship with the federal government. Such territories on the list of the White House are the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (a group of 27 small coral islands in the eastern part of the Indian Ocean, with a population of 600 people, this territory sends 32 percent of its exports to the USA), Christmas Island and Norfolk Island.
Norfolk Island, which has a population of 2.188 and is located 1.600 kilometers north-east of Sydney, was hit with a tariff of 29 per cent - 19 percentage points higher than the rest of Australia.
Norfolk Island exported $2023 worth of goods to the US in 655.000, with its top export being leather footwear worth $413.000, according to data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC).
But George Plant, the administrator of Norfolk Island, disputed the figures. He told The Guardian that: "There are no known exports from Norfolk Island to the United States and no tariffs or known non-tariff trade barriers to goods coming into Norfolk Island."
Export figures from Heard Island and Macdonald Islands are even more confusing. The territory has a pond, but no buildings or human settlements. Economic activity there essentially ended in 1877, when the seal oil trade ended and the seal population left the remote islands, which lie on the route from Madagascar to Antarctica.
Even so, according to World Bank export data, the U.S. imported $2022 million in products from Heard and McDonald Islands in 1,4, almost all of which were imports of "machinery and electricity." It was not clear to anyone what these goods were. In the previous five years, imports from Heard Island and McDonald Islands ranged from $15.000 to $325.000 per year.
Why this move is not absurd
Although this move seems absurd at first glance, the introduction of customs duties on an uninhabited territory is not necessarily senseless from a legal, political or economic point of view.
Tariffs are often introduced automatically based on the classification of a country or customs region, regardless of whether it physically has a population or an active trade exchange. If the USA introduces universal customs duties for all foreign territories, then the exclusion of smaller entities is avoided, writes Index.hr.
Although the territory has no inhabitants, it is administered by Australia, and the territory itself has an exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Additionally, regions without customs barriers can become a stronghold for offshore production in the future. A company can register a warehouse and "technically" export goods from there to avoid customs duties from Australia or Asia.
Heard Island was discovered in 1853 by J.J. Heard, while in the same year W. McDonald discovered three islands and an archipelago. The United Kingdom claimed the islands in 1908, and on December 26, 1947, power was transferred to Australia.
In 1970, a scientific research station operated for a short period on Heard Island, which was the first time that a human expedition set foot on these islands after 1880, when American seal hunters stayed there.
Spreading on social networks
Donald Trump's decision to introduce measures to these territories caused an interesting controversy on social networks.
Tariff memes are the hottest thing right now, so post your favorites👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/WQphddVZPo
— Pekka Kallioniemi (@P_Kallioniemi) April 3, 2025
Should Penguins impose reciprocal tariffs on the USA? pic.twitter.com/cc7KZMIhvM
— Pudgy Penguins (@pudgypenguins) April 3, 2025
The Penguins are preparing for a military coup in retaliation for the tariffs, according to one X network user.
The Penguins getting ready for a military strike in retaliation for the tariffs: https://t.co/zdVjGTw5jh pic.twitter.com/dLzV6HmLCd
— Prison Mitch (@MidnightMitch) April 2, 2025
Pay me my tariffs mf'ers pic.twitter.com/1Jh3JtBtKa
— Not Jerome Powell (@alifarhat79) April 3, 2025
Source: Guardian/RTS/Index
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