'Tariff the seagulls?' These are the remote islands on Trump's tariff list, and what they export

An uninhabited Antarctic outpost populated by penguins. One of the smallest economies successful the world. An Arctic archipelago with much polar bears than people.

To punctuation Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, it truly does appear that "nowhere connected Earth is safe" from U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs.

Trump rattled markets, manufacturers and much Wednesday announcing a baseline of 10 per cent tariffs on imports into the United States — and acold higher connected goods from immoderate places, notably those with precocious commercialized surpluses with the States. In enforcing his steep and wide tariffs, analysts person suggested Trump has upended the planetary order.

But to galore observers, the astir puzzling facet of Trump's list was that it included immoderate of the astir distant and smallest territories and islands successful the world. Places that, successful immoderate cases, are largely inhabited by penguins.

Like Australia's Heard and McDonald Islands successful the sub-Antarctic region, 1 of the astir distant places connected earth, and which, according to the Australian authorities website, person lone been visited by humans astir 242 times since 1855.

"The Heard and McDonald Islands are wholly uninhabited. Population zero. I conjecture we're going to tariff the seagulls?" wrote Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior chap astatine the American Immigration Council, connected X.

With that successful mind, present are immoderate of those territories, the tariffs they look — and what they really export.

British Indian Ocean Territory: 10% 

The British Indian Ocean Territory is an archipelago of 58 islands covering astir 640,000 quadrate kilometres of ocean, astir halfway betwixt East Africa and Indonesia.

It's not a tourer destination. Access is restricted and you request a permit to question there, according to the territory's website. It has nary imperishable population, but astir 3,000 U.S. and U.K. subject unit and civilian contractors unrecorded connected the land of Diego Garcia, according to the CIA Factbook.

Its U.S. imports totalled about $462,500 US successful 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Its apical commodities were machine and physics products, followed by livestock and livestock products.

According to the CIA Factbook, each economical enactment is concentrated connected Diego Garcia, wherever "construction projects and assorted services needed to enactment the subject installation are performed by subject and declaration employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US."

Heard and McDonald Islands: 10% 

The Heard and McDonald Islands successful the distant Antarctic together signifier an uninhabited Australian territory. The mostly barren islands betwixt Madagascar and Antarctica person 2 progressive volcanoes and tin lone beryllium reached by sea. 

"Due to the utmost isolation… unneurotic with the persistently terrible upwind and oversea conditions, quality activities successful the portion person been, and remain, limited," says the Australian government's Antarctic program website.

And yet, for reasons not instantly clear, U.S. imports by the uninhabited islands totalled $13,590 US successful 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This mostly consisted of electrical instrumentality and appliances, machine and physics programs, and proscription equipment. 

A study successful The Guardian suggests that immoderate of the information for these islands, and for Norfolk Island, whitethorn travel from mislabelled shipments.

The CIA Factbook doesn't database immoderate economical enactment for Heard and McDonald Islands, saying they are "populated by a ample fig of vertebrate species, seals, and penguins," and that "the islands are chiefly utilized for research, with constricted sportfishing permitted successful the surrounding waters."

WATCH | 'Meticulously planned' tariffs:

Norfolk Island: 29% 

Norfolk Island successful the Pacific, different Australian territory, with a colonisation of astir 2,000 people, received much terrible tariff treatment.

The Trump administration, successful its calculation, says the erstwhile British penal colony charges 58 per cent tariffs connected the U.S. — and it responded with a tariff of 29 per cent on the island, whose system revolves astir tourism. It's astir 1,600 kilometres eastbound of Sydney.

Norfolk Island Administrator George Plant, the Australian government's typical there, was looking into it.

"To my knowledge, we bash not export thing to the United States," helium told The Associated Press. "We don't complaint tariffs connected anything. I can't deliberation of immoderate non-tariff barriers that would beryllium successful spot either, truthful we're scratching our heads here."

Their U.S. imports successful 2024 totalled astir $191,000 US, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The immense bulk of these were nether a class called "goods returned," which is merchandise sent backmost aft it has been imported to the U.S. Otherwise, it was mostly proscription instrumentality ($25,000 US), and machine and physics products ($14,770 US).

The CIA Factbook says the territory's system is high-income, with key tourism and re-exportation industries.

WATCH | Canadians connected Norfolk Island respond to tariffs:

Svalbard and Jan Mayen: 10% 

Jan Mayen is simply a tiny Arctic island, perchance featuring much polar bears than people. The CIA Factbook describes it as "desolate" and "barren."

The lone inhabitants connected Jan Mayen, portion of Norway since 1930, are unit of the Norwegian subject and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. The land — 600 kilometres northeast of Iceland — is partially covered by glaciers.

Svalbard is simply a Norwegian archipelago successful the Arctic Ocean. Just nether 3,000 radical unrecorded there, astir of them successful the world's northernmost municipality community, Longyearbyen, according to the Svalbard tourism website.

The 2 regions present look 10 per cent tariffs. Their U.S. imports successful 2024 totalled conscionable nether $42,000 US, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.This mostly consisted of non-electrical machinery, followed by machine and physics products.

According to the CIA Factbook, Svalbard's system mostly consists of coal mining, tourism and research, a cardinal whaling and sportfishing base, and is besides location to the Global Seed Vault. The factbook doesn't database thing for Jan Mayen's economy, saying it has been "visited lone occasionally by seal hunters and trappers implicit the centuries."

Tokelau: 10% 

This federation is made up of 3 tropical coral islands and is location to 1,500 radical connected a combined onshore country of 10 square kilometres.

One of the smallest economies successful the South Pacific, Tokelau survives connected subsistence agriculture, fishing, and concern from New Zealand, which counts the islands arsenic 1 of its territories.

Their U.S. imports successful 2024 totalled $177,600 US, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Nearly each of that was nether a class called "other peculiar classification provisions," oregon items that don't acceptable neatly into different categories. The CIA Factbook says the bulk of Tokelau's exports are cars, telephones, garments, robust fasteners and fabric. The U.S. is not listed arsenic 1 of its large trading partners. 

According to the Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce website, Tokelau has 1 of the smallest economies successful the world, and its main sources of gross are income of copra (dried coconut products), postage stamps, souvenir coins, handicrafts and remittances from relatives successful New Zealand.

Cocos (Keeling) Islands: 10%

Another Australian territory, these 27 coral islands are located successful the Indian Ocean betwixt Australia and Indonesia, and marque up astir 14 square kilometres. Only astir 593 radical unrecorded there, according to the CIA Factbook.

Its system is mostly based connected agriculture (such arsenic bananas, pawpaws, and coconuts), tourism and copra products.

For a tiny acceptable of islands, its U.S. imports were connected the larger broadside astatine about $1.1 cardinal US, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The largest class was "goods returned," followed by machine and electronics products and transportation equipment.

The CIA  Factbook says the islands nonstop 31 per cent of its exports — ships — to the U.S.