U.S. added, then removed Wakanda from trading partners list

PanARMENIAN.Net - The fictional country of Wakanda, the home of Marvel superhero Black Panther has been taken off the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) website, where until Wednesday, December 18 it was listed as a free-trade partner of the United States, Forbes reports.

Despite not existing, the department’s online tariff tracker listed hundreds of data entries that seemingly described the trade relationship Wakanda had with the U.S.

Wakanda’s exports to the U.S. apparently included fresh vegetables, unroasted coffee beans, essential oils and livestock.

According to USDA spokesperson Mike Illenberg, the staff who ran the tracker used test files to make sure the system was working and then forgot to delete the entries.

“The Wakanda information should have been removed after testing and has now been taken down,” Illenberg said.

Wakanda was first introduced to audiences in issues of the Fantastic Four comic book in 1966. In 2018, the fictional East African country was back in the spotlight when superhero Black Panther got his own Marvel movie that went on to win three Academy Awards. The reclusive kingdom’s closed borders and opposition to the export of fictional mineral vibranium formed a key part of the plot of the box office smash.