Trump imposes tariffs on remote islands inhabited only by penguins.

The new customs duties announced by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday 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 on Wednesday evening regarding the new customs duties, two completely uninhabited volcanic islands, believed to have had no human visitors for about 10 years, were included. The list included the islands of "Herd" and "MacDonald," which are uninhabited volcanic islands near the Antarctic continent covered by glaciers and are home to penguins, and imposed a 10% tax on them. Despite Australia's sovereignty over these two islands, they can only be accessed by a two-week sea journey from the western coast of Australia. These duties prompted Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to tweet, saying, "No place on earth is safe." It is worth noting that 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 mentioned on the US customs duties list is "Norfolk," with a population of 2,188 people located 1,600 km northeast of Sydney. Strangely, it was subjected to a 29% customs duty, while Australia was only taxed at 10%. In this context, a local official explained to The Guardian that the island does not export any goods to the United States, and there are no customs duties or non-tariff trade barriers on goods coming to the island. Regarding this, Albanese commented, "Norfolk Island has been subjected to a 29% customs duty. I'm not sure if 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, pointing out that the economic policies adopted by his administration have led to enhancing growth, local investment, and creating new job opportunities. Regarding the customs duties imposed on trading partners, Trump announced that "the process is over, the patient is recovering, and is now in the healing phase."