Trump tariffs a remote, penguin-inhabited island in the Indian Ocean

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When the White House published a complete list of its reciprocal tariffs — running over several pages and naming close to 200 countries and territories — it was topped by China, a country of more than 1.4 billion people and home to the second largest economy in the world, after the United States. Its reciprocal tariff rate was 37 per cent.

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But scroll to the bottom of the list and you’ll find some lesser known parts of the world that have also been slapped with reciprocal tariffs. Raising eyebrows (and perhaps ruffling a few feathers) are Heard and McDonald Islands, which are listed at 10 per cent, the lowest rate offered by the Trump administration.

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That tariff will be hard to collect, however, since the islands are uninhabited, save by seals, penguins and other birds. They are also one of the most remote places on Earth; though owned by Australia since 1947, they are roughly 4,000 kms from Australia and an almost equal distance from Madagascar. The nearest mainland is Antarctica, and that’s some 1,600 kms away.

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An Australian government website notes: “Due to the extreme isolation of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, together with the persistently severe weather and sea conditions, human activities in the region have been, and remain, limited.”

It adds: “Since the first landing on Heard Island in 1855, there have been only approximately 240 shore-based visits to the island, and only two landings on McDonald Island (in 1971 and 1980).”

What visits there are mostly revolve around terrestrial and marine research, the site notes, undertaken as part of the Australian Antarctic science program.

The news site Axios reported that a White House official had said the islands were included on the chart because they are Australian territory. But Trump critics made hay of the news.

Anthony Scaramucci, a one-time communications director in Trump’s first term, joked on X: “The penguins have been ripping us off for years.”

Tom Malinowski, a Democrat and former New Jersey Representative, added: “The Heard Island and McDonald penguins have been taking advantage of us for too long — it’s about time we stood up to them!”

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The Australian territory may have been the most unusual item on the list, but others drew attention as well. The Cocos Islands, another far-flung Australian territory — “a 14.2 sq km drop in the Indian Ocean,” says its website — also faces a 10 per cent tariff, but at least it has a human population of about 600, and a small economy, mostly consisting of tourism and administration.

Then there is Svalbard and Jan Mayen, also on the list with a 10 per cent reciprocal tariff. While the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard has a population of several thousand, the nearby spoon-shaped island of Jan Mayen has no permanent residents, though it is home to members of the Norwegian Armed Forces and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute from time to time.

It is also home to several bird species, one of which, the northern fulmar, was named seabird of the month by BirdLife International in May of 2022.

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