Trump’s weirdest tariffs as he declares struggle on uninhabited islands, low cost tat and penguins

According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the US is the largest importer of goods in the world, buying in roughly £2.6billion in 2022

Donald Trump has caused an international stink, starting a trade war with with countries around the world – but there are some confusing additions to his hit list.

Many had expected the US’ allies to suffer the worst from his new raft of tariffs; Mexico and Canada have already been in the firing line and the EU has been anticipating the worst, but bizarrely it is countries rarely thought of in the context of the America that have been the hardest hit.

And none have been punished more than countries in southeast Asia. According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the US is the largest importer of goods in the world, buying in roughly £2.6billion in 2022.

The US imports most of its goods from China, the EU, Mexico, Canada and Japan. Trump’s administration have levied a 10% tariff on imports from all countries, but some nations have suffered far more than just that.

Trump says his tariffs are ‘reciprocal’ to what he and his administration perceive as a historic imbalance in trade. China now has the highest tariff rate, with 54%, although this includes pre-existing rates as well.

Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia are among the highest climbers, with impositions of 46%, 36% and 49% respectively.

Interestingly, all three of these countries serve an important role in the world economy though their exports of cheaply-manufactured goods, meaning flow of goods between the two countries is very one-sided.

In 2022, for instance, Vietnam imported just under £10billion from the US, but exported around $103billion to the States.

Apple, Nike and Samsung all have manufacturing plants in Vietnam, and last year exports to the US made up 30% of the entire country’s gross domestic product.

According to the Trump administration, the move comes against counties with the highest tariffs against the US, saying he was being kind by only enforcing 50% of the tariffs select countries already have going the other way.

One thing this doesn’t account for though, is does this mean American will no longer be able to access cheap goods that couldn’t be made elsewhere?

And it is not only closing itself off to an entire type of import that makes the White House plan so head-scratching – he’s also imposed tariffs on islands with no people.

The president left no stone unturned in his conquest, imposing a new duty on the Heard and McDonald islands, an uninhabited patch of land that takes two hours to get to by boat, hasn’t been visited for 10 years and is mainly lived on by penguins.

The islands are an external territory of Australia, yet still featured on the list of ‘countries’ that have been deemed an unfair dealer with the US. “Nowhere on earth is safe,” Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said.

Trump’s former communications chief Anthony Scaramucci joked: “The penguins have been ripping us off for years.”

Ex-Congressman Tom Malinowski added: “The Heard Island and McDonald penguins have been taking advantage of us for too long – it’s about time we stood up to them!”

Madagascar, which imports million of dollars of clothing and material to the US, has also been slapped with 47% tariffs.

Maybe Trump hates penguins, maybe Trump’s been watching too many kids’ films.