An uninhabited island, a military base and a ‘desolate’ former whaling station. Trump’s tariffs include unlikely targets

The sweeping tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday target not only economic superpowers but also financial minnows. In fact, a White House list notes some territories with no economy, and no people, at all.

The sweeping tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday target not only economic superpowers but also financial minnows. In fact, a White House list notes some territories with no economy, and no people, at all. That is the exact case of the Heard Island and McDonald Islands, an Australian external territory in the southern Indian Ocean, which was hit with a 10% tariff. The CIA World Factbook describes the uninhabited islands, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as “80% ice-covered” and “bleak” in the case of Heard Island and the McDonald Islands as “small” and “rocky.” Economic activity there essentially ended in 1877, when the trade in elephant seal oil was ended and the human population of sealers left the remote islands, which are located en route from Madagascar to Antarctica. Another Australian territory targeted by tariffs is the Cocos Islands. With a population of 600 people, the territory sends 32% of its exports – ships – to the US, according to the CIA Factbook. They now face a 10% tariff. On the opposite side of the planet, the small Norwegian island and former whaling station of Jan Mayen faces 10% tariffs. But no one lives there permanently (a few military personnel rotate in), and it has an economy of zero, according to the CIA Factbook, which calls it a “desolate, mountainous” island.