Trump imposes customs duties on remote islands inhabited only by penguins.

The new customs duties announced by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday evening were not only directed towards major economic powers, but also extended to remote islands and uninhabited regions inhabited only by penguins, which surprised observers. According to the list released by the White House, two completely uninhabited volcanic islands, believed to have had no human visitors for about 10 years, were included in the new customs duties. These islands, "Herd" and "MacDonald," near the Antarctic continent, covered with glaciers and home to penguins, were subjected to a 10% tax. Despite Australia's sovereignty over these islands, they can only be reached by a two-week sea journey from the western coast of Australia. These duties prompted Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to tweet, "Nowhere on Earth is safe." These external territories are part of Australia and do not have self-government, but have a special relationship with the Australian federal government. Another Australian island, "Norfolk," with a population of 2,188 people located 1,600 km northeast of Sydney, was also listed with a 29% customs duty, while Australia itself faced only a 10% duty. A local official explained to The Guardian that Norfolk Island does not export goods to the United States, and there are no customs or non-tariff trade barriers on goods coming to the island. In response, Albanese commented, "Norfolk Island has been hit with a 29% tariff. I'm not sure Norfolk Island, with all due respect, competes with the giant US economy, but this shows that nowhere on Earth is safe from this." Trump emphasized that the US economy will be stronger and more resilient than ever, attributing the growth, local investment, and new job opportunities to the economic policies adopted by his administration. Regarding the customs duties imposed on trading partners, Trump declared, "The process is over, the patient is recovering, and is now in the healing phase."