Sydney, April 3 – U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff measures have unexpectedly hit remote Australian territories, including the tiny Norfolk Island and the uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands, leaving locals and officials perplexed.
The tariff regime, unveiled on Thursday, imposes a 29% duty on Norfolk Island and a 10% tariff on Heard and McDonald Islands, despite their minimal exports or, in the case of the latter, no human population.
Richard Cottle, a Norfolk Island business owner, dismissed the move as an error. “Norfolk Island is a little dot in the world. We don’t export anything,” he told Reuters. The island, located about 600 miles off Australia’s east coast, has 2,188 residents and exports only small amounts of Kentia palm seeds, mostly to Europe, valued at less than $1 million annually.
The island was listed alongside global trade giants such as China and the European Union in Trump’s sweeping tariff policy, prompting both amusement and confusion among locals.
The Heard and McDonald Islands, Antarctic territories with no permanent population, were also slapped with a 10% tariff on exports to the U.S. Despite their remote location and lack of an economy, they were included in the same trade measures.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, campaigning ahead of an upcoming election, acknowledged the tariffs but admitted Norfolk Island’s higher rate was a surprise.
“Last time I looked, Norfolk Island was a part of Australia,” Albanese said. “This separate tariff is somewhat unexpected and a bit strange.”
U.S. trade data shows minimal economic activity between Norfolk Island and the U.S.:
- Exports to the U.S.: $300,000 (2022), $700,000 (2023), $200,000 (2024).
- Imports from the U.S.: Remained steady at $100,000 annually in those years.
- Peak imports: $11.7 million in 2020, with no recorded exports.
Despite the unexpected tariff, Norfolk Island’s economy is largely tourism-driven, and local business owners do not foresee a significant impact.
“Products from Norfolk Island are going to have a 29% tariff? Well, there is no product, so it’s not going to have an effect,” said Gye Duncan, a tax consultant.
Miles Howe, a retired public servant and former Norfolk Island Chamber of Commerce president, said the situation was met with humor among locals. “I think everyone’s rather amused by the idea that we’d even register on the radar of somebody like Donald Trump.”
