US Has An Explanation For Tariffs On Penguins' Island — 'If You Leave Anything...'
US President Trump's import tariffs sparked curiosity more than outrage for this uninhabited sub-Antarctic island in the Australian territory.
The global economy and markets across continents have been reeling under the shockwaves sent by US President Donald Trump last week after he unveiled a list of countries slapped with import tariffs in America.
The list had almost all the major economies of the world including the UK, European Union, Japan, China, Canada, India, and many other nations.
However, a remote island near Antarctica included in the list of countries caught some people's attention sparking curiosity over its inclusion.
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The Heard and McDonald Islands, a barren sub-Antarctic island in the Australian territory was slapped 10 per cent tariff on all exports from there. But here's a catch, the island is not inhabited by humans but four species of penguins.
The Australian government reacted with as much surprise as the social media users on the internet who were quick to share memes on the subject. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday: "Nowhere on Earth is safe."
Why Did Trump Tariff A Penguin Island?
The US Commerce Secretary has defended the country's decision saying it was meant to close "ridiculous loopholes" and would prevent other countries from shipping through the islands to reach the US.
"If you leave anything off the list, the countries that try to basically arbitrage America go through those countries to us," Howard Lutnick told CBS.
"The President knows that he's tired of it, and he's going to fix that."
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Countries often ship products from one port to another, a process known as transshipment which is very common in global trade. However, Pew Charitable Trusts, a public policy organisation, has said that this method can also "enable bad actors to obscure or manipulate data" around the shipping events.
According to their estimates, hundreds of millions of dollars of tuna and similar species are illegally shipped via this method in the western and central Pacific each year.
Although there is no specific data available regarding such practice, if any, from the Heard and McDonald Islands to the US.
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