US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on Wednesday, targeting economic superpowers but also small financial minnows, including territories with no economy or people at all. The White House list includes Australia’s Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Cocos Islands, Jan Mayen, Tokelau, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Lesotho, British Indian Ocean Territory, Marshall Islands, and others.
Some of the affected territories include Australia’s Heard Island and McDonald Islands, with a 10% tariff imposed on its exports. The islands are uninhabited, with only ice covering 80% of their surface. Cocos Islands, with a population of 600 people, also faces a 10% tariff despite sending 32% of its exports to the US.
Other territories hit by Trump’s tariffs include Norway’s Jan Mayen, which has no permanent residents but an economy of zero; Tokelau, with a population of 1,600 and exports worth around $100,000; and Saint Pierre and Miquelon, with a 50% tariff on its processed crustaceans and shellfish. Lesotho, with 2.2 million people, also faces a 50% tariff on its diamond and garment exports.
The tariffs will affect places of high importance to the US government and national security, including the British Indian Ocean Territory, home to around 3,000 military personnel and contractors at the Diego Garcia airbase, and the Marshall Islands, with a key American military installation.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/03/business/trump-tariffs-uninhabited-islands-intl-hnk/index.html