While it was the Australian-ruled aquatic birds that took all the headlines for being hit with a 10 percent “retaliatory” tariff, spare a thought for the penguins that find themselves under European jurisdiction.
Only 15 of the 778 islands that constitute the Falkland Islands, a United Kingdom overseas territory, are inhabited by humans. Overall, penguins outnumber people by around 300 to 1.
That hasn’t stopped the Trump administration from slapping Falklanders with a feather-freezing 41 percent tariff. The U.K., meanwhile, did a good enough job of sweet-talking Trump to only be bludgeoned with a 10 percent tariff.
… but soft on seals
Trump’s tariffs also came after a Norwegian island with a native population of exactly zero people. Jan Mayen, located northeast of Iceland, was hit with a 10 percent tariff despite having virtually no economy. The only people stationed there are meteorologists and Norwegian soldiers — and they’re vastly outnumbered by seals.
Also on America’s hitlist is Svalbard, another Norwegian island territory. Svalbard used to have a mining industry, but its 3,000-strong human population now works mainly in tourism. The last active mine is closing this year.
The U.S. actually had a trade surplus with the two islands in 2024, albeit of just $400,000, and neither Svalbard nor Jan Mayen exported anything to the U.S. So Svalbard’s seals can presumably return to the important business of evading polar bears rather than navigating international trade barriers.