Australia criticises US import taxes on uninhabited icy territory thousands of miles from civilisation
Two of the world’s most isolated islands, inhabited only by penguins and seals, have unexpectedly found themselves caught in the middle of a political trade dispute after being listed in the Trump administration’s latest round of tariffs.
The Heard and McDonald Islands, a distant Australian territory in the Southern Ocean over 4,000km southwest of Perth, are uninhabited and only reachable after a week-long boat journey. Yet they are now subject to US tariffs, raising eyebrows across the diplomatic and scientific communities.
Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell labelled the decision a clear error, joking that “the poor penguins must have somehow offended Donald Trump”. He criticised the US government’s approach, suggesting the trade policy had been rushed without proper review.
The new measures, introduced on Wednesday, include sweeping 10% tariffs on multiple Australian territories, including the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island and even the unpopulated volcanic terrain of Heard Island. Norfolk Island, which has a small resident population, faces an even higher rate of 29%.
In total, territories such as the Falkland Islands, Svalbard (Norway), and the British Indian Ocean Territory have also been affected.
“It simply proves no corner of the Earth is safe,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, expressing frustration at what he called “completely unjustified” actions.
Despite their newfound notoriety, the Heard and McDonald Islands have had minimal to no direct trade with the US. According to researchers, only a couple of Australian firms operate in the surrounding waters, catching limited quantities of Patagonian toothfish and mackerel icefish.
“There’s nothing commercial going on there,” said Professor Mike Coffin of the University of Tasmania, who has led several scientific expeditions to the area. “No permanent human activity. Just pristine wilderness.”
The islands are protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, valued for their untouched ecosystem where nature thrives without human interference. Vast colonies of penguins, elephant seals and seabirds live among glaciers and volcanic slopes.
Coffin once mistook a penguin colony for a beach, only to realise it was a sea of birds. “There must have been hundreds of thousands,” he recalled.
Unsurprisingly, confusion over trade data appears to be behind the inclusion of these territories. Reports suggest some US imports were mistakenly labelled as originating from the islands when, in fact, the goods came from elsewhere.
In 2022, the US recorded $1.4 million in imports from Heard and McDonald, mostly machinery and electronics – likely a data error, analysts say.
Both the US International Trade Administration and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have been approached for clarification, but no official explanation has been offered yet.
“The move is not what we expect from a close ally,” Albanese remarked. “It undermines goodwill and makes little economic sense.”
