Where are Heard Island and McDonald Island? Trump imposes tariffs on penguin island
President Donald Trump on Wednesday unleashed a fury of tariffs on about 60 countries during his "Liberation Day" event, wielding a poster-sized chart that was later listed in full on the White House social media page.
But scanning the official list during the pomp and circumstance of the Rose Garden event, Americans were left scratching their heads as a few small remote islands, including the unfamiliar Heard and McDonald Islands, seemingly made the cut. Where is it, and who even lives there? were among the social media queries. Others quipped that the island's penguins were protesting.
Outside the White House Wednesday, Trump announced a 10% base line tariff on imports from all foreign countries, as well as much-higher, so-called reciprocal actions on about 60 other countries. He has hailed the tariffs, which affect all U.S. trading partners and imports, as a "declaration of economic independence," arguing that it will help correct decades of what he said has been unfair treatment to Americans.
Touting he is "putting America first," Trump argues the tariffs will rejuvenate the nation's declining manufacturing sector, but many economists worry Trump's imposition of his largest-scale tariffs to date could further weaken the economy.
As stocks tumbled Thursday and several countries warned of retaliation and threat of a global trade war, what was the word from the remote Heard and McDonald Islands? Here's what we know about the country and it's human, and wildlife, population.
Where are the Heard and McDonald Islands?
Toward the end of a chart displaying the reciprocal tariffs, shared by the White House on X while Trump was speaking on Wednesday, Heard and McDonald Islands are listed as being hit with a 10% reciprocal tariff.
The Heard Island and McDonald Islands — which consist of McDonald Island, Flat Island and Meyer Rock — are located in the Indian Ocean, about halfway between Australia and South Africa, and about 1,056 miles north of Antarctica.
In total, the islands are 144 square feet in size — about twice the size of Washington, D.C. Heard Island is 80% covered in ice, "bleak" and features a large compact group of mountains, called Big Ben, which has an active volcano called Mawson Peak, according to the CIA. It last erupted in May 2023.
McDonald Island is mainly an active volcano, and lava from an eruption in 1996 caused the island to double in size, according to the CIA. The volcano was dormant for 75,000 years, but became active in 1992.
The islands were named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997.
What lives on Heard Island and McDonald Islands?
Heard Island and McDonald Islands "one of the world's rare pristine island ecosystems" as it has remained nearly untouched by humans, according to UNESCO. There are no human settlements, and the islands are managed by the Australian government, according to UNESCO.
The islands are home to millions of marine birds and mammals, UNESCO said. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the islands are a major breeding population of fur and elephant seals, penguins, albatrosses, and petrels.
Several species on the islands are not found anywhere else: the Heard Island Cormorant (or shag) and the Heard Island Sheathbill.
Is there a Heard and McDonald Islands flag?
Heard Island and McDonald Islands have no insignia or emblems, and their national symbols are represented by the Commonwealth Coat of Arms and the Australian National Flag.
Map of Heard and McDonald Islands
Here are maps of Heard Island and McDonald Islands from Google Maps and the CIA.
What are tariffs?
Tariffs are taxes that governments impose on trade. They are primarily levied on imports, typically to protect local industries, according to scholars with the Woodrow Wilson Center.
These taxes are paid by import companies bringing the tariffed goods into the country.
Who pays tariffs?
Tariffs are paid by the importer, or an intermediary acting on the importer's behalf.
Trump has argued that it is the exporter — in this case America — who takes the hit. But research has found that U.S. businesses and customers end up paying tariffs through higher prices; According to The New York Times, trade policy experts agree American consumers will "most likely" bear the cost of the new U.S. tariffs, as they did during Trump's first term.
Lori Comstock is a New Jersey-based journalist with the Mid-Atlantic Connect Team.