Trump’s Tariffs Extend to Uninhabited Australian Islands
President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs have reached even the most remote corners of the world, including the uninhabited Heard Island and McDonald Islands—an Australian sub-Antarctic territory home to penguins but no human residents.
The islands appeared on the list of regions affected by the Trump administration’s universal 10% tariff, alongside mainland Australia. Managed by the Australian Antarctic Division, the islands remain among the least disturbed ecosystems on Earth due to their extreme isolation and harsh weather conditions. The Australian government notes that scientific research and limited commercial fishing in adjacent waters are the only human activities in the area.
Norfolk Island, another Australian territory with a small population of just over 2,000, has been hit with an even higher tariff of 29%, nearly triple the rate applied to the Australian mainland. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed confusion over this decision, questioning why Norfolk Island was singled out.
“I’m not sure what Norfolk Island’s major exports are to the United States and why it’s been targeted, but it has,” Albanese told reporters. “It’s somewhat unexpected and a bit strange.”
Norfolk Island, located 1,000 miles northeast of Sydney, is primarily dependent on tourism. According to trade data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity, the island’s exports to the U.S. in 2023 amounted to $655,000, primarily in leather footwear. However, Norfolk Island’s administrator, George Plant, challenged these figures, asserting that the island has no known exports to the United States.
The tariffs underscore the wide-reaching nature of Trump’s trade policies, with even the most obscure territories not exempt from the administration’s latest economic measures.
