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US takes Wakanda off free-trade list
9:31 CAT | 19 Dec 2019
The fictional African country is depicted in the Marvel Comics superhero film Black Panther. [Image: Marvel Studios]
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has removed the mythical African country of Wakanda from an online list of nations that have free-trade agreements with the US.
The mistake was noticed by a Tweeter:
Wakanda is listed as a US free trade partner on the USDA website?? pic.twitter.com/xcq1OFTIPh
— Francis Tseng (@frnsys) December 18, 2019
The software engineer was looking for data on US agricultural tariffs for a fellowship he is pursuing, reports Reuters.
“I was very confused at first and thought I misremembered the country from the movie and got it confused with something else,” Mr Tseng told Reuters.
Before it was removed, Reuters adds that Mr Tseng downloaded an Excel spreadsheet listing “Harmonized Schedule” tariff codes for various goods traded between Wakanda and the US including live animals, dairy goods, tobacco and alcohol but that there was no mention of a trade agreement in vibranium – a fictional ultra-strong metal found in Wakanda.
After the list was corrected, Tseng tweeted a tongue-in-cheek political analysis of the situation:
well, the USDA took Wakanda off the list. guess we’re in a trade war with them too https://t.co/uee8f0WqiS https://t.co/kTYBjIAvfe
— Francis Tseng (@frnsys) December 18, 2019
fwiw, the US would no doubt try to liberalize Wakanda’s markets and flood it with cheap subsidized corn
— Francis Tseng (@frnsys) December 19, 2019
A spokesman told The Washington Post that the inclusion of Wakanda was a mistake made as part of a test officials were running.
Source: BBC
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