On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced that the US is imposing mutual tariffs to a tiny collection of Antarctic Islands not inhabited by people, As part of the global trade war, it was aimed at ensuring American domination. Islands heard and McDonald, known from the population of penguins and sea birds, can only be reached by the sea.
Trump announced that the countries are now subject to tariffs at a Wednesday press conference, using a poster as a prop. Additional countries – including listened to and McDonald, which, by the way, are not listed on the list Paper sheets distributed to reporters.
One of the sheets claims that the islands listened to and McDonald currently download a “tariff on the USA” of 10 percent, explaining in lowercase letters that include “currency manipulation and trade barriers”. In return, the sheet says that the USA downloads “discounting mutual tariffs” on the islands at a rate of 10 percent.
The islands are tiny. Their reported 37,000 hectares Earth makes them a little larger than Philadelphia. According to UNESCO, which marked the islands as a world heritage in 1997, they are covered with rocks and glaciers. The Heard Island is a place of busy volcano, and McDonald Island is surrounded by several smaller rocky islands. The islands are home to huge population of penguins and elephant seals.
The Australian Antarctica department manages the Islands, keeping the environment and conducting research With a huge population of wild nature, as well as an impact on climate change on hearing and indefinite McDonald glaciers. On Wednesday, Australia and many of its territories, including the island of Christmas and Cocos Tariffs of 10 percent. Norfolk island, which Australia also claims, received 29 percent of the tariff.
The White House did not answer immediately at Wired’s request for comment. After commenting on, the Australian branch of Antarctica referred to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which did not react before the publication.
“It can be argued that this violates the international spirit of Antarctic,” says Wired Elizabeth Buchanan, an expert of polar geopolitics and an older employee at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
According to the Antarctic Treaty, which promotes international scientific cooperation and states that the continent should be used for peaceful purposes, land in Antarctica cannot be owned by any country. However, Australia claimed from 1953 that the islands are Australian territories. Australia also made a claim to the water surrounding the island under the 2002 Act, which established a maritime reserve. Last year, the country adopted the law extending the boundaries of this reserve His size four times.
Australian defense forces monitors surrounding waters Islands heard and McDonald as part of the Resolute operation, which covers an area of 200 nautical miles from Australia and “about 10 percent of the world area”. In addition to the hearing and the McDonald Islands, it also applies to the water surrounding Christmas, Cocos, Macquarie, and the islands of Norfolk and Lord Howe. Australian defense forces claims that the purpose of Resolute’s operation is to solve “security threats” such as piracy and pollution.
The Antarctica Australian division claims that this area Sometimes it receives Ships involved in scientific research, commercial fishing and tourism.