TRUMP HAS ANNOUNCED new “reciprocal” tariffs of 10% on a small collection of Antarctic islands that are not inhabited by humans, as part of a sweeping announcement to “make America wealthy again”.

The Heard and McDonald Islands, a volcanic group of mostly barren islands, have been an Australian territory since 1947 and are home to four types of penguins and a range of seabirds – but have never had a permanent population of people.

The islands are among the most remote places on Earth – they are located about 4,100 kilometres southwest of Australia, 4,200 km southeast of South Africa and 1,630 km north of Antarctica.

Nevertheless, the islands featured on Trump’s extensive list of tariffs on 185 nations and territories. According to figures on the list, the Heard and McDonald Islands charge a 10% tariff on US imports.

Elsewhere, Trump slapped a 29% trade tariff on the tiny Pacific territory of Norfolk Island, another Australian territory.

The island has a total population of a little over 2,000 people and lies 1,600 kilometres northeast of Sydney.

The island’s chamber of commerce says it ranked as the world’s number 223 exporter in 2019, shipping goods worth a total of $1.7 million, led by soybean meal and sowing seeds.

It is estimated that the island exports a grand total of $655k worth of good to the US.

Yet a global tariff list brandished by Trump showed it was being punished with a tariff nearly three times higher than the Australian mainland’s 10%.

It’s led to some head scratching from Australian politicians, with prime minister Anthony Albanese questioning why Norfolk Island was “singled out”.

“I’m not quite sure that Norfolk Island, with respect to it, is a trade competitor with the giant economy of the United States,” Albanese said.

It “exemplifies the fact that nowhere on Earth is exempt from this”.

In any case, the prime minister could not say why the Australian islands would not face the same US tariff as the rest of the country.

Also on the list was the British Indian Ocean Territory, a collection of mostly uninhabited islands with no permanent population — with the exception of the joint U.S. and United Kingdom military base on the island Diego Garcia.

Jan Mayen also made the list another island which is uninhabited, except for 18 people temporarily working there for Norway’s military and meteorological service.

Similarly, the island of Tokelau near New Zealand, home to less than 2,000 people, will also face tariffs.