The Heard and McDonald Islands are largely inhabited areas, which take almost 10 days to reach from Fremantle in Western Australia. The island, slapped with a 10 per cent tariff, is home to birds and penguins.
US President Donald Trump unleashed his administration’s sweeping new tariffs on Wednesday, which included the uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands, located in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean. Notably, no one lives there. The Trump administration has slapped a baseline 10 per cent tariff on all trade partners, which also impacts the Heard and McDonald Islands. According to a report by Axios, the islands have been mentioned as they were Australian territory. As per the Australian government website, the Heard and McDonald Islands are “one of the wildest and remotest places on Earth.”
Where are Heard and McDonald Islands located?
According to the Australian Antarctic Program, one can reach Heard Island by ship from Fremantle in Western Australia in at least 10 days, and that too depends on weather conditions. The island is home to creatures like penguins, seals, and various bird species, with some of them categorised under international conservation status.
Earlier, Trump presented the import taxes, which he calls “reciprocal tariffs”, which range from 10 per cent to 49 per cent, in the simplest terms, the US would do to its trading partners what he said they had been doing to the US for decades.
The president promised that “Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country.” He framed it not just as an economic issue but as a question of national security that threatens “our very way of life”.
Trump’s latest tariffs opposed by several countries
Shortly after Trump’s announcement, the British government said the United States remains the UK’s “closest ally”.
Moreover, Italy’s conservative Premier Giorgia Meloni described the new 20 per cent tariffs against the European Union as “wrong”, saying they benefit neither side.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the US tariffs imposed on his country were totally unwarranted, but Australia will not retaliate.
