From deserts to defence posts, Trump's tariffs spare no ground or sea

From secret military bases to uninhabited islands, Trump's sweeping tariffs have left no corner untouched-even places with no trade, no civilians, and no exports

US President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariff policy has extended far beyond traditional trading partners, reaching even deserted islands and top-secret military bases. Even the middle of the ocean isn’t off-limits, reported NDTV.

 

As part of the administration’s push for ‘reciprocal trade’, nearly every country and territory on the map is now subject to a 10 per cent baseline tariff. That includes remote and strategic military outposts like Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory and the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, both of which are vital to US defence strategy.

 

Diego Garcia: A military base, not a marketplace 

One of the more bizarre entries on the list is the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), home to the Diego Garcia military base. Located deep in the Indian Ocean, Diego Garcia doesn’t have a civilian population. Instead, it hosts about 3,000 US and British military personnel and is completely off-limits to the public.

 

 

The island is a crucial hub for US operations in Asia and the Middle East and has no meaningful exports. Still, Trump’s new tariff regime places a 10 per cent duty on this territory, despite the fact that it contributes nothing to global trade.

 

Can someone please tell Donald Trump that the only people in the British Indian Ocean Territory are the U.S. base at Diego Garcia?  He’s taxing an American military base. pic.twitter.com/TxHBMzl074

— Oliver Cooper (@OliverCooper) April 2, 2025

 

The BIOT has also long been at the centre of a geopolitical standoff between the UK and Mauritius. Civilians from the Chagos Archipelago, which includes Diego Garcia, were forcibly removed in the 1960s and 70s to make room for the military base. Today, only military and support staff remain.

 

Adding to the intrigue, a recent Associated Press (AP) report cited satellite imagery showing six nuclear-capable US B-2 bombers parked at Diego Garcia — an unusual and telling deployment, given the limited number of B-2 bombers in the entire US arsenal.

 

Kwajalein Atoll: Tariff trouble in the Pacific 

The Marshall Islands, a small Pacific nation under a special security pact with the US, was also surprised to find itself on Trump’s tariff list. Even though the US is responsible for its defence under the Compact of Free Association, exports from the island nation are now subject to a 10 per cent tariff.

 

That includes goods from Kwajalein Atoll, home to a critical US Army missile tracking and testing site. The base is part of Washington’s larger strategic footprint in the Pacific, and while trade volumes are negligible, the decision to include it raises eyebrows. 

 

Even uninhabited islands weren’t spared 

Trump’s tariff blitz didn’t stop with military bases. It also stretched to the ends of the Earth— quite literally.

 

Among the strangest names on the list: Heard and McDonald Islands. These uninhabited, sub-Antarctic specks of land are technically part of Australia’s ‘external territory’ and have no population or commercial activity. And yet, they too were tagged with a 10 per cent tariff.

 

A White House official told Axios that the islands were included simply because they’re part of Australia. 

 

‘No practical impact’, believe experts 

Though the inclusion of these territories may raise eyebrows, experts say it’s more about optics than actual impact.

 

“The tariffs will have no practical effects on the British Indian Ocean Territory and Chagos Islands, as overseas military bases are exempt,” said Eric Golson, an economic warfare expert and associate professor at the University of Surrey, speaking to Newsweek.