An uninhabited Antarctic outpost populated by penguins. One of many smallest economies on the planet. An Arctic archipelago with extra polar bears than folks.
To cite Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, it actually does seem that “nowhere on Earth is protected” from U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
Trump rattled markets, producers and extra Wednesday saying a baseline of 10 per cent tariffs on imports into the US — and much larger on items from some locations, notably these with excessive commerce surpluses with the States. In implementing his steep and broad tariffs, analysts have advised Trump has upended the worldwide order.
However to many observers, essentially the most puzzling side of Trump’s listing was that it included among the most distant and smallest territories and islands on the planet. Locations that, in some instances, are largely inhabited by penguins.
Like Australia’s Heard and McDonald Islands within the sub-Antarctic area, some of the distant locations on earth, and which, in keeping with the Australian authorities web site, have solely been visited by people about 242 instances since 1855.
“The Heard and McDonald Islands are utterly uninhabited. Inhabitants zero. I suppose we’ll tariff the seagulls?” wrote Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow on the American Immigration Council, on X.
With that in thoughts, listed below are a few of these territories, the tariffs they face — and what they really export.
British Indian Ocean Territory: 10%
The British Indian Ocean Territory is an archipelago of 58 islands masking about 640,000 sq. kilometres of ocean, about midway between East Africa and Indonesia.
It isn’t a vacationer vacation spot. Entry is restricted and also you want a allow to journey there, in keeping with the territory’s web site. It has no everlasting inhabitants, however about 3,000 U.S. and U.Okay. navy personnel and civilian contractors reside on the island of Diego Garcia, in keeping with the CIA Factbook.
Its U.S. imports totalled about $462,500 US in 2024, in keeping with the U.S. Census Bureau. Its high commodities have been pc and digital merchandise, adopted by livestock and livestock merchandise.
In accordance with the CIA Factbook, all financial exercise is focused on Diego Garcia, the place “development tasks and varied companies wanted to help the navy set up are carried out by navy and contract staff from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US.”
Heard and McDonald Islands: 10%
The Heard and McDonald Islands within the distant Antarctic collectively type an uninhabited Australian territory. The principally barren islands between Madagascar and Antarctica have two energetic volcanoes and may solely be reached by sea.
“As a result of excessive isolation… along with the persistently extreme climate and sea circumstances, human actions within the area have been, and stay, restricted,” says the Australian authorities’s Antarctic program web site.
And but, for causes not instantly clear, U.S. imports by the uninhabited islands totalled $13,590 US in 2024, in keeping with the U.S. Census Bureau. This principally consisted {of electrical} tools and home equipment, pc and digital packages, and transportation tools.
A report in The Guardian suggests that among the knowledge for these islands, and for Norfolk Island, might come from mislabelled shipments.
The CIA Factbook does not listing any financial exercise for Heard and McDonald Islands, saying they’re “populated by a lot of fowl species, seals, and penguins,” and that “the islands are primarily used for analysis, with restricted fishing permitted within the surrounding waters.”
U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping ‘Liberation Day’ reciprocal tariffs have been described as ‘meticulously deliberate,’ however among the many targets are the landlocked African nation of Lesotho, an island residence to a U.S. airbase, and Australia’s Heard Island and McDonald Islands — the place most residents are penguins.
Norfolk Island: 29%
Norfolk Island within the Pacific, one other Australian territory, with a inhabitants of round 2,000 folks, obtained extra extreme tariff therapy.
The Trump administration, in its calculation, says the previous British penal colony expenses 58 per cent tariffs on the U.S. — and it responded with a tariff of 29 per cent on the island, whose financial system revolves round tourism. It is about 1,600 kilometres east of Sydney.
Norfolk Island Administrator George Plant, the Australian authorities’s consultant there, was trying into it.
“To my information, we don’t export something to the US,” he informed The Related Press. “We do not cost tariffs on something. I can not consider any non-tariff limitations that might be in place both, so we’re scratching our heads right here.”
Their U.S. imports in 2024 totalled round $191,000 US, in keeping with the U.S. Census Bureau. The overwhelming majority of those have been underneath a class referred to as “items returned,” which is merchandise despatched again after it has been imported to the U.S. In any other case, it was principally transportation tools ($25,000 US), and pc and digital merchandise ($14,770 US).
The CIA Factbook says the territory’s financial system is high-income, with key tourism and re-exportation industries.
Norfolk Island, an exterior territory of Australia within the Pacific Ocean, was hit by 29 per cent tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump regardless of having no identified exports to the States. Jesse Schiller and Rachel Evans, two Canadians who run a enterprise on the island, clarify how they’re reacting to the tariff.
Svalbard and Jan Mayen: 10%
Jan Mayen is a small Arctic island, probably that includes extra polar bears than folks. The CIA Factbook describes it as “desolate” and “barren.”
The one inhabitants on Jan Mayen, a part of Norway since 1930, are employees of the Norwegian navy and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. The island — 600 kilometres northeast of Iceland — is partly coated by glaciers.
Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago within the Arctic Ocean. Slightly below 3,000 folks reside there, most of them on the planet’s northernmost city group, Longyearbyen, in keeping with the Svalbard tourism web site.
The 2 areas now face 10 per cent tariffs. Their U.S. imports in 2024 totalled just below $42,000 US, in keeping with the U.S. Census Bureau.This largely consisted of non-electrical equipment, adopted by pc and digital merchandise.
In accordance with the CIA Factbook, Svalbard’s financial system largely consists of coal mining, tourism and analysis, a key whaling and fishing base, and can be residence to the World Seed Vault. The factbook does not listing something for Jan Mayen’s financial system, saying it has been “visited solely often by seal hunters and trappers over the centuries.”
Tokelau: 10%
This nation is made up of three tropical coral islands and is residence to 1,500 folks on a mixed land space of 10 sq. kilometres.
One of many smallest economies within the South Pacific, Tokelau survives on subsistence agriculture, fishing, and finance from New Zealand, which counts the islands as one in every of its territories.
Their U.S. imports in 2024 totalled $177,600 US, in keeping with the U.S. Census Bureau. Almost all of that was underneath a class referred to as “different particular classification provisions,” or objects that do not match neatly into different classes. The CIA Factbook says nearly all of Tokelau’s exports are vehicles, telephones, clothes, iron fasteners and material. The U.S. is not listed as one in every of its main buying and selling companions.
In accordance with the Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce web site, Tokelau has one of many smallest economies on the planet, and its predominant sources of income are gross sales of copra (dried coconut merchandise), postage stamps, memento cash, handicrafts and remittances from relations in New Zealand.
Cocos (Keeling) Islands: 10%
One other Australian territory, these 27 coral islands are positioned within the Indian Ocean between Australia and Indonesia, and make up about 14 sq. kilometres. Solely about 593 folks reside there, in keeping with the CIA Factbook.
Its financial system is essentially primarily based on agriculture (reminiscent of bananas, pawpaws, and coconuts), tourism and copra merchandise.
For a small set of islands, its U.S. imports have been on the bigger aspect at about $1.1 million US, in keeping with the U.S. Census Bureau. The biggest class was “items returned,” adopted by pc and electronics merchandise and transportation tools.
The CIA Factbook says the islands ship 31 per cent of its exports — ships — to the U.S.
