Well, the Wakanda trade agreement couldn’t last forever — the government just won’t let us have any fun. The high-tech, fictional country from the critically acclaimed film Black Panther was listed as a free-trade agreement partner of the U.S. on a tariff tracker maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Apparently, the USDA used Wakanda to test the tracker system and simply forgot to remove it.
“The Wakanda information should have been removed after testing and has now been taken down,” a USDA spokesman says.
The mistake was discovered by Francis Tseng, a fellow at the Jain Family Institute, an applied research organization involved in social sciences. He was looking for a resource that examined existing trade deals when he found Wakanda on the tariff tracker.
Wakanda is listed as a US free trade partner on the USDA website?? pic.twitter.com/xcq1OFTIPh
— Francis Tseng (@frnsys) December 18, 2019
“I definitely did a double-take,” Tseng says. “I Googled Wakanda to make sure it was actually fiction and I wasn’t misremembering. I mean, I couldn’t believe it.”
Not only was Wakanda listed, but it also had hundreds of data inputs that ranged from fresh vegetables to essential oils and livestock. Yellow potatoes had to maintain a base rate when shipped from the fictional nation, while other goods were tariff-free if the U.S. chose to import them from Wakanda. Cows were also tariff-free (lucky you, cow traders).
The website, in typical party-pooper fashion, noted that the information wasn’t official and was meant to be used for general reference.
Marvel has not responded regarding Wakanda’s temporary trade agreement, but I’m sure Stan Lee (may he rest in peace) would be proud of the country’s business-savvy mindset.
Fans across Twitter have been throwing hilarious shade at USDA; here are a few of our personal favorites.
wakanda mistake was that? 😆
— سلام الله (@edefy) December 19, 2019
When you find out Wakanda exists because America cuts trade ties with them. #Wakanda
— Jon Ryder (@JonRyder62) December 19, 2019
The Wakanda Trade War begins https://t.co/l5rVPll5Hb
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) December 19, 2019
https://twitter.com/HyperNerdGirl/status/1207608095138074624
Wakanda will no longer watch from the shadows https://t.co/lxBbMEnUrG
— Rebecca Sinderbrand (@sinderbrand) December 18, 2019
https://twitter.com/Mswendy2004/status/1207649222767587329
Wakanda didn't need the US, the US needs Wakanda……#WakandaForever #Wakanda pic.twitter.com/PgOxvnbBWH
— Aubrey Fletcher (@airwalkerx) December 19, 2019
Photos: Marvel Studios
