No people, just penguins and seals: Trump imposes 10% tariff on an uninhabited island

In a surprising turn of events, US President Donald Trump's latest tariff announcement has sparked reactions worldwide, not just for a possible trade war but also for imposing tariffs on an island where no human lives.

During a press briefing at the

White House

Rose Garden, Trump declared what he termed "Liberation Day tariffs," imposing a baseline 10% tariff on all trade partners. However, the move took an unexpected twist when it was revealed that

Heard and McDonald Islands

, a remote and uninhabited Australian territory in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean, were among the regions affected.
According to a report by Axios citing a White House official, the islands were listed due to their status as Australian territory. Trump used a visual poster to outline the affected regions and distributed printed sheets to reporters, one of which said that the islands currently impose a 10% "Tariff to the USA," a claim referring to "currency manipulation and trade barriers." In response, the US administration has imposed "discounted reciprocal tariffs" at the same rate.

Heard and McDonald Islands, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed territory, are described by the Australian government as "one of the wildest and remotest places on Earth." The Australian Antarctic Program notes that reaching the islands requires a roughly 10-day journey by sea from Fremantle, Western Australia. The islands are home to various wildlife species, including penguins, seals, and seabirds, many of which have protected conservation status.

The decision to include these islands, as well as mainland Australia, in the new tariffs led to a sharp response from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. In a post on X, he said, "Nowhere on earth is safe. These tariffs are not unexpected, but they are unwarranted. Many other countries will be hit harder by today's decision than Australia – and no nation is better prepared than Australia."

Among other Australian external territories affected were the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island, and Norfolk Island. Notably, Norfolk Island, which has a population of just over 2,100, was subjected to a 29% tariff—19 percentage points higher than the rest of Australia.