Trump imposes tariffs on remote islands near Antarctica home only to penguins

Donald Trump has included a group of barren, uninhabited volcanic islands near Antarctica in his list of countries and territories to be hit by new tariffs.

Heard Island and McDonald Islands, which form an external territory of Australia in the southern Indian Ocean, are among the most remote places on Earth and are inhabited only by penguins and seals.

Despite having no human inhabitants or imports or exports, the president has hit the territory with a 10% tariff on goods bound for the US.

The islands, which are accessible only by a two-week boat voyage from Perth on Australia’s west coast, are believed to have last been visited by people 10 years ago.

Another Australian territory targeted by Mr Trump’s tariffs is Norfolk Island, which has a population of 2,188 people and lies 1,000 miles north east of Sydney.

The island, which has a total area of about 13 square miles, was hit with a 29% tariff on goods.

News of the tariffs left Norfolk Island residents scratching their heads.

“To my knowledge, we do not export anything to the United States,” George Plant, the Australian government’s representative on the island, told the Associated Press on Thursday.

“We don’t charge tariffs on anything. I can’t think of any non-tariff barriers that would be in place either, so we’re scratching our heads here.”

Mr Trump, who announced import tariffs ranging from 10% to 49% on Wednesday, said they would allow the US to flourish economically.