“Tariff Seagull?” These are remote islands on Trump’s tariff list, what have they exported
An uninhabited Antarctic outpost by crowds of penguins. One of the smallest economies in the world. There are more polar bears in the Arctic Islands than in the population.
To quote Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the massive tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump do look “nowhere to be safe on earth.”
Trump rocked the market, manufacturers and more Wednesday, announcing imports to the U.S.’s benchmark value and higher commodities from certain places, especially those with higher over-trade surplus with states. Analysts enforce his steep and extensive tariffs show that Trump has upended the global order.
But for many observers, the most confusing aspect of Trump’s roster is that it includes some of the world’s most distant and smallest territories and islands. In some cases, these places are mostly inhabited by penguins.
Just as Australia, one of the most remote places on the planet, heard in Australia, like the McDonald’s Islands, according to the Australian government website, humans have only visited about 242 times since 1855.
“Heard that there is no one living with the McDonald’s Islands. Zero population. I think we’re going to collect seagulls?” Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the U.S. Immigration Commission, wrote on X.
With that in mind, there are some territories here, the tariffs they face and what they actually export.
British Indian Ocean Territory: 10%
The British Indian Ocean territory is an archipelago of 58 islands covering about 640,000 square kilometers of ocean, about half of the ocean between East Africa and Indonesia.
This is not a tourist destination. According to the area’s website, access is restricted and you need permission to travel. CIA Factbook said it does not have a permanent population, but about 3,000 U.S. and British military personnel and civilian contractors live on Diego Garcia Island.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. imports totaled about $462,500 in 2024. Its highest commodity is computers and electronics, followed by livestock and livestock products.
According to CIA Factbook, all economic activity is concentrated on Diego Garcia, where “the construction projects and various services needed to support military installations are conducted by military and contract employees in the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines and the United States.”
Heard and McDonald Islands: 10%
The Heard and McDonald archipelago in the remote Antarctic together form the uninhabited Australian territory. Most barren islands between Madagascar and Antarctica have two active volcanoes that can only be reached by sea.
“Human activities in the region have been and remain limited due to extreme isolation … coupled with persistent inclement weather and maritime conditions,” the Australian government’s Antarctic Program website said.
However, due to the U.S. Census Bureau’s claims, U.S. uninhabited island imports total $13,590 for reasons that are not immediately clear. This mainly includes electrical equipment and electrical appliances, computers and electronic programs, and transportation equipment.
A report in The Guardian shows that some data on these islands and Norfolk may come from misplaced goods.
CIA Factbook does not list any economic activity in the Heard and McDonald archipelago, saying they are “occupied by a large number of birds, seals and penguins, and that “the islands are mainly used for research, and the surrounding waters allow limited fishing.”
U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” reciprocity tariffs are described as “well-planned” but target the African country Lesotho, an island of U.S. air bases, Easter Islands in Australia and McDonald Islands – most of the residents are penguins.
Norfolk Island: 29%
Norfolk Island in the Pacific is another Australian territory with a population of about 2,000 people and is subject to more severe tariff treatment.
The former British criminal colony levied 58% on U.S. tariffs and responded to the island’s economy, whose economy revolved around tourism, said the Trump administration in its calculations. About 1,600 kilometers east of Sydney.
Norfolk Island Chief Executive George Plant, the Australian government’s representative, is studying it.
“We won’t export anything to the United States as far as I know,” he told the Associated Press. “We charge nothing. I can’t think of any non-tariff barriers that will be there, so we’re scratching our heads here.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, their U.S. imports in 2024 totaled about $191,000. The vast majority of these are categories called “return goods”, which are goods returned after importing them into the United States, mainly transportation equipment ($25,000 in the United States), as well as computers and electronics ($14,770 in the United States).
CIA Factbook said the territory’s economy is high-income, with key tourism and reexport industries.
Norfolk Island is an external territory of Pacific Australia, and although there are no exports to states yet, U.S. President Donald Trump is subject to 29% tariffs. Jesse Schiller and Rachel Evans, two Canadians who run companies on the island, explained their reaction to the tariffs.
Svalbard and Jan Mayen: 10%
Jan Mayen is a small Arctic island that may have more polar bears than people. CIA Factbook describes it as “desolate” and “barren”.
Since 1930, Jan Mayen’s only residents are staff members of the Norwegian military and the Norwegian Meteorological Academy. The island – 600 kilometers northeast of Iceland – is partially covered by glaciers.
Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic ocean. According to the Svalbard Tourism website, where they live, most of them are Longyearbyen, the world’s northernmost urban community.
Both regions now face 10% tariffs. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, their total U.S. imports in 2024 are less than $42,000. This consists mainly of non-motor machinery, followed by computers and electronic products.
According to CIA Factbook, Svalbard’s economy largely includes coal mining, tourism and research, a key whaling and fishing base and home to a global seed bank. Factbook didn’t list anything for Jan Mayen’s economy, saying it was “only visited by seal hunters and catchers for centuries.”
Tokelau: 10%
The country consists of three tropical coral islands, home to 1,500 people on a combined land area of 10 square kilometers.
Tokelau is one of the smallest economies in the South Pacific, surviving New Zealand’s survival agriculture, fishing and finance, which regards the islands as one of its territory.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, their total U.S. imports in 2024 are $177,600. Almost all of these fall into categories called “other special classification regulations” or items that are not neatly incorporated into other categories. CIA Factbook says most of Tokelau’s exports are cars, phones, clothing, iron fasteners and fabrics. The United States is not listed as one of its major trading partners.
According to the Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce website, Tokelau has one of the smallest economies in the world, and its main source of income is the sale of tape (dried coconut products), stamps, souvenir coins, handicrafts and remittances from New Zealand relatives.
Keeling Island: 10%
Another Australian territory, these 27 coral islands are located in the Indian Ocean between Australia and Indonesia, covering an area of about 14 square kilometers. According to CIA Factbook, only about 593 people live there.
Its economy is based primarily on agriculture (such as bananas, paws and coconuts), tourism and copper products.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, for a small group of islands, its U.S. imports amount to about $1.1 million. The biggest category is “returned goods”, followed by computers and electronics and transportation equipment.
CIA Factbook says the islands send 31% of their exports (ships) to the U.S.
