US officials appear to have misinterpreted goods coming from an aquarium firm in Horsham St Faiths and an engineering company in Diss as originating from Norfolk Island - more than 10,000 miles away.

It meant the Australian territory, home to just 2,188 people, was surprised to be hit with 29pc tariffs this week despite saying it has no trading relationship with the US.

Norfolk Island in Australia has a population of about 2,000 (Image: Getty Images)

This is 19pc higher than the rest of Australia. George Plant, the island's administrator, says islanders have been left "scratching their heads" at why they are facing such high tariffs when their economy relies predominantly on tourism.

The apparent blunder by US trade officials emerged in an investigation by the Guardian, which analysed US import data and shipping records used to calculate Trump's tariffs.

The research identified errors in shipment labels - including from companies in Nelson's County - as the likely cause for the Norfolk Island tariffs.

Bills of lading - crucial documents used in international trade between carriers and shippers - have erroneously listed Norfolk Island as the country of origin in a number of cases where the shipments actually came from firms in Norfolk in the UK. The OASE UK headquarters in Horsham St Faith, near Norwich (Image: Google)........

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