From Fictional Exports to National News: How Norfolk Island Ended Up in Trump’s Crosshairs

Mid-morning, my phone buzzed with a message from a friend:

“Did you see Norfolk Island is on Donald Trump’s tariff list?”

Honestly, I didn’t even open it. Figured it was a gag.

Then we got a call from a Norfolk Islander, Tash, who works in Canberra.

“I’ve got journalists from around Australia calling me to speak to Norfolk Island business owners about the tariffs. Do you two want to speak to the subject?”

Turns out, it wasn’t a gag after all.

On what Donald Trump dubbed “Liberation Day,” he announced sweeping tariffs on almost every country—Russia notably excluded—plus additional “reciprocal tariffs” on select nations. Norfolk Island somehow made the reciprocal list, slapped with a 29% tariff.

There are… many layers of strange here.

First, we’re a tiny 5 x 8 km (3 x 5 mile) speck in the middle of the South Pacific with no manufacturing industry to speak of. We don’t export to the USA—because we don’t really export at all. And even if we did, we wouldn’t set our own duties; we’re an external territory of Australia, and duties are handled federally.

So how did we end up with a tariff nearly triple that of Australia’s?

Turns out, according to The Guardian, it all traces back to a series of shipping paperwork errors. Several large U.S.-bound shipments—like Timberland boots from the Bahamas, aquarium equipment from Norfolk in the UK, and steel from a company also based in Norfolk, UK—were mistakenly marked as originating from “Norfolk Island.” These incorrect entries fed into U.S. Census data, inflating our supposed exports to $655,000, including $413,000 in leather footwear (which, to be clear, we do not make). The data then triggered a 29% tariff via an automated formula based on trade deficits.

There is no leather footwear industry here. No factories. No exports. Just a quiet island and a wildly mistaken identity.

But this level of absurdity made the story irresistible to global media—a perfect metaphor for the scattershot chaos of the tariff rollout. Facts be damned, if a misfiled shipping document says uninhabited islands or a remote Aussie territory are taxing American imports, well then—tariff them too.

So, we said yes to the interview.

Daniel Lo Surdo from the Sydney Morning Herald called. We did our best to share how we felt—confused, relieved no local businesses were impacted, and leaning into the humour of it all. Here's a link to read his entire article exposing the absurdity of it all.

Then we woke to messages from Jeff at the CBC in Canada. He invited us to appear on The National with Ian Hannomansing. For Rachel, a Norfolk Islander, and me, a Vancouverite who grew up watching Ian on the news, it was a surreal and full-circle moment.

Jeff called expecting a quirky story about a South Pacific island, but our lives—and our company, KOOSHOO—are global. We're proudly based on Norfolk Island, Rachel is a Norfolk Islander with an Australian passport, we’re both Canadian citizens, we manufacture in India and Japan, and export to the USA, Canada, Australia, and beyond. 

What started as a curious Norfolk oddity quickly turned serious. Because while a 29% tariff on our non-existent exports from Norfolk is laughable, the 26% tariff on India and 24% on Japan—where we do manufacture—hits very real. Watch the entire interview from CBC below. 

As a small business, our mission is to deliver beautiful, ethical, high-performance hair accessories at a great price. But there’s a hard ceiling on what consumers will pay. A 25% average tariff doesn’t just hurt profits—it threatens the whole model.

And we’re not alone. Across the board, businesses are having tough costing conversations today. Starting next week, US customers may see prices spike 20-50% on everything from essentials to accessories. It’s heartbreaking, because where this leads—if unchecked—is recession. Customers are already stretched thin. Asking them to absorb this cost isn’t sustainable.

We’ve always believed in sustainable, ethical manufacturing. We understand the desire to onshore jobs—but this isn’t how it’s done. This isn’t surgical. This is a blindfolded dartboard. And the casualties? Small businesses with no buffer (big companies will hike prices and survive on their cash reserves). And consumers, who lose either way.

If you live in the US, please speak to your representatives. Your voice matters more than ever.

As for the CBC appearance—Canadians showed up in spades. Our site traffic soared. Orders jumped. But what meant the most were the kind, thoughtful messages from across the country.

One customer, Rob from Edmonton, sent us a video he returns to often in difficult times. It struck a chord. Feels right for this moment.

Thank you for being on this journey with us. In a time of scattershot policies and fake data, your compassion, your connection, and your care are what’s real.

There are so many good people out there.

We see you. We appreciate you. We're finding our way forward, with hope.