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Tariffs for penguins? Trump trade order targets remote uninhabited Australian islands

Critics are mocking Washington for placing tariffs on Heard Island and McDonald Islands, possibly due to mislabelled shipping data

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King Penguins on Macquarie Island, another sub-antarctic islands belonging to Australia. Photo: Shutterstock
SCMP’s Asia desk
US President Donald Trump’s latest wave of tariffs on trade partners has swept up some unlikely targets – including an uninhabited sub-Antarctic island group 4,000km from mainland Australia that is home only to seals and penguins.
Heard Island and McDonald Islands, a remote Australian territory in the Southern Ocean, were named in the US government’s reciprocal tariff list released on Wednesday, with a 10 per cent tax set to apply – the same rate imposed on the Australian mainland.

The decision appears to have been made in error, possibly due to mislabelled shipping data, but it has nonetheless triggered sharp reactions and a touch of dark humour from critics.

“Donald Trump slapped tariffs on penguins and not on Putin,” said US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, referencing Russia’s omission from the sanctions list.

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Andrew Constable, an adjunct professor at the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, said the development was so absurd that it made him laugh – but also served as a reminder of Australia’s vast and far-flung territories.

“To be honest, I laughed,” Constable, who had visited the islands before, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in a radio interview.

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