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The U.S. Department of Agriculture apparently takes our relations with the Kingdom of Wakanda very seriously. The affects of our world upon the larger world of the mundanes can be profound. The US Department of Agriculture listed Wakanda as a free-trade partner - despite it being a fictional country. A USDA spokesperson said the Kingdom of Wakanda was added to the list by accident during a staff test. That's some accident. There was an awful lot of realistic looking data in that listing. In the Marvel universe, Wakanda is the fictional East African home country of superhero Black Panther. To the outside world, it's a backward, rural country whose exports consist primarily of farm products and livestock. Inside the impenetrable force field, however, it's the most technologically advanced nation in the world. Wakanda first appeared in the Fantastic Four comic in 1966, and made a reappearance when Black Panther was adapted into an Oscar-winning film last year. The unusual listing was spotted by Francis Tseng, a New York-based software engineer who was looking up agricultural tariffs for a fellowship he was applying for. https://twitter.com/frnsys/status/1207316477373829120 The USDA's online tariff tracker hosted a detailed list of goods traded between the United States and Wakanda, including ducks, sheep, goats, chickens, donkeys, dairy cows and buffalo. https://twitter.com/frnsys/status/1207316829481385984 The fictional country was removed soon from the list after US media first queried it, prompting jokes that the countries had started a trade war. Considering that, in the Marvel universe, Wakanda is the most technologically advanced nation on the planet thanks to it being home to a large meteor strike consisting mainly of vibranium, a trade war with the kingdom would be a terrible idea as it would severely impair the United States' ability to import the precious metal. The royal administrative offices of King T'Challa could not be reached for comment. -30-

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U.S. Department of Agriculture Lists Wakanda as Free-Trade Partner

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