Donald Trump Blasts Harley-Davidson Over Tariff Trouble

MILWAUKEE, WI — One day after Milwaukee-based motorcycle manufacturer Harley Davidson announced that they were shifting some of its production overseas because of a Donald Trump-fueled trade war, the President took to Twitter to volley some scorching rhetoric at the company.

In a series of tweets from the President's official Twitter account, Donald Trump accused Harley-Davidson of "waving the white flag" in sending production overseas, and calling the tariffs an "excuse" to make the move.

Trump also called out Harley-Davidson, accusing company employees of being angered that more motorcycles aren't made in the U.S. and

....When I had Harley-Davidson officials over to the White House, I chided them about tariffs in other countries, like India, being too high. Companies are now coming back to America. Harley must know that they won’t be able to sell back into U.S. without paying a big tax!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/realDonald... 26, 2018

Citing an ongoing trade war, Harley Davidson, the Milwaukee-based American motorcycle manufacturer, announced Monday that they are shifting some of its production overseas.

Company officials said that the move was necessary to keep the price of their motorcycles the same as rising tariffs between the U.S. and European Union resulted in increased costs to buy the iconic motorcycles.

According to a CNN Money report, the EU began imposing tariffs Friday on $3.2 billion worth of American goods, including motorcycles, orange juice, bourbon, peanut butter, motorboats, cigarettes and denim. The tariffs are viewed are a response to Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Europe.

"Consequently, EU tariffs on Harley-Davidson motorcycles exported from the U.S. have increased from six percent to 31 percent. Harley-Davidson expects these tariffs will result in an incremental cost of approximately $2,200 per average motorcycle exported from the U.S. to the EU," the company said inan official filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 25.

Company officials said that they will be increasing their international production in order to make up the additional consumer costs from the EU tariffs.

["It] represents the only sustainable option to make its motorcycles accessible to customers in the EU and maintain a viable business in Europe," the company stated Monday.

Further, Harley Davidson said that the company is going to take a bath as a result of the tariffs. "The company estimates the incremental cost for the remainder of 2018 to be approximately $30 to $45 million," the company announced Monday. "On a full-year basis, the company estimates the aggregate annual impact due to the EU tariffs to be approximately $90 to $100 million."

Harley Davidson's announcement is seen by many as one of the highest-profile cases that shows the effects of President Donald Trump's policy at raising international tariffs on a variety of raw materials and goods.

"While Mr. Trump says his trade policy is aimed at reviving domestic manufacturing, Harley-Davidson’s decision shows how the administration’s moves could have the unintended effect of reducing employment and economic growth in the United States," the New York Times reported.

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