U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has defended the decision by the U.S. to impose tariffs on a group of islands inhabited only by penguins and seals, as reported by Gazeta Sinjali.
“Tariffs on the Heard and McDonald Islands were imposed,” said Lutnick, “to close absurd gaps in the system and to prevent other countries from transporting goods through those islands to reach the U.S.”
According to the World Bank, the European Union already applies tariffs on these islands, foreign media outlets have reported.
It is also reported that Trump’s list included the British Indian Ocean Territory, which is exclusively inhabited by military personnel and requires permission to visit, according to BBC.
Although it may seem absurd, the imposition of tariffs on uninhabited territories is not necessarily pointless from a legal, political, or economic perspective, as a company could register a warehouse there and then export goods to avoid customs duties from Australia or Asia.
