US Secretary of Commerce Lutnick advocated for including desolate islands on the tariff list. Lutnick alleged that China and other countries exploit legal loopholes through such islands.

As US President Donald Trump’s customs tariff policies continue to shake the world, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick argued that including islands with no human population on the tariff list is “necessary to close legal loopholes.”

The Heard and McDonald Islands, located in the Southern Ocean and part of Australia, draw attention by being included in the tariff list despite having no human population.

Lutnick discussed President Trump’s announced tariffs on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” program.

Answering the question, “Why apply a 10% tax on these regions? Did you use artificial intelligence to do this?” Lutnick responded, “No. The goal here is not to exempt any country from the list. Because if you exclude any place from the list, countries that are indirectly trying to exploit America bring their products to us through those regions.”

Lutnick claimed that China and other countries exploit “legal loopholes” through such islands to close the trade deficits of the US.

On April 2nd, Trump announced that the US will impose reciprocal tariffs on other countries, with the basic tariff rate set at 10%.