'Whatever': Trump official pressed on tariffs against islands populated by penguins

Yahoo

06-04-2025

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Sunday defended President Donald Trump's tariff rollout last week when asked why two uninhabited islands were hit with the fees, saying in a new interview "whatever."
Trump on Wednesday announced a 10% baseline tariff for all countries and reciprocal tariffs against approximately 60 countries that he says contribute most to the U.S. trade deficit.
But toward the end of a long list of charts displaying the reciprocal tariffs, as shared by the White House on X, Heard and McDonald Islands are listed as being hit with the 10% cost.
"The Heard and McDonald islands have zero human inhabitants. They had zero exports," CNN "State of the Union" host Jake Tapper said Sunday. "They had zero imports. They do have a lot of penguins. Why are you putting import tariffs on islands that are entirely populated by penguins?"
"Come on, Jake," Rollins responded. "Obviously, here's the bottom line. We live under a tariff regime from other countries. We have too long ceded the idea that America goes first.
"I mean, come on, whatever. Listen, the people that are leading this are serious, intentional, patriotic," Rollins said.
The islands are located between Australia, South Africa and the Antarctic continent. They are conserved for their "pristine island ecosystems" with a rare combination of sub-Antarctic islands and active volcanoes, according to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention.
They do have thriving wildlife largely untouched by people, with several populations of bird species, seals and penguins.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was also asked about the tariffs on the islands on Sunday. He argued the Trump administration couldn't leave any country off of their list of fees, in case other nations try to ship through the area to avoid tariffs.
"Basically (Trump) said, look, I can't let any part of the world be a place where China or other countries can ship through them," Lutnick said. "So he ended those loopholes, these ridiculous loopholes."
Tariffs were the centerpiece of Trump's economic agenda on the 2024 campaign trail, and his administration has argued they will spur production in America. However, some analysts say that manufacturers will pass the costs of the tariffs on to consumers, effectively raising prices.
The stock market has taken a major hit in the days since Trump's tariff rollout.
In the two trading days since Wednesday's announcement, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 9.2%, the S&P 500 fell 10.5%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 11.4%.
Contributing: Jim Sergent, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump official pressed on tariffs against islands with penguins, seals