What the Norfolk! Remote Australian island hit with 29% Trump tariff due to ‘incorrectly labelled’ shipments

Donald Trump's ‘Liberation Day’ speech came as a shock to tiny Australian territories when he slapped up to 29 per cent tariffs on the islands that are either uninhabited or claim to have no trade relations with the US. A new report has now claimed that the tariffs have been calculated on the basis of some mistaken identities and erroneous data.

As per a report by The Guardian, some parts of the data relates to shipments incorrectly labelled as Norfolk Island, or Heard Island and McDonald Islands instead of the correct countries of origin.

Mislabelled data leads to 29% tariffs

Over the past five years, erroneously labelled shipments include aquarium systems, Timberland boots, wine and parts for a recycling plant.

As per an analysis of the media outlet on US import data and shipping records, a host of shipments were categorised as having originated from Norfolk Island or Heard and McDonald islands. However, the company address, port of shipment departure or destination port were not located in these territories.

What's the confusion?

In some of the cases related to the Norfolk Island, the company's address or port of departure is Norfolk, UK, or the destination is Norfolk, Virginia in the US. In some cases, a company’s registered address in New Hampshire (NH). All these addresses have been incorrectly entered as Norfolk Island (NI).

“There are no known exports from Norfolk Island to the United States,” The Guardian quoted George Plant, the administrator of Norfolk Island, as saying on Thursday.

However, according to US government data, presented by the Observatory of Economic Complexity, a whopping amount of $655,000 worth of goods were exported to the US from Norfolk Island in 2023. The data also notes that the remote island exported $413,000 worth of leather footwear to the US.

One of the largest shoe shops denied having exported anything to the US.

“We are a shoe shop selling shoes to the tourists that visit the island and do not export shoes to the US or have any business with the US,” the manager of the shop was quoted as saying by the media outlet.

Where is Norfolk Island? What is the tariff?

An Australian territory, Norfolk Island became Donald Trump's target as he unveiled a list of tariffs imposed on almost all corners of the world.

With a population of 2,188, Norfolk Island lies 1,600km north-east of Sydney.

Norfolk Island was hit with a 29 per cent tariff by the Donald Trump administration, which took action on April 2 to facilitate business in America.