IN
THE
WIND
P44
TRADE WARS: EPISODE II –
TRUMP ATTACKS HARLEY, INDIAN
TALKS OVERSEAS MOVE, UNION
LEADER SPEAKS
H
arley-Davidson remains the
target of President Trump's
attacks, following the Milwaukee-
based manufacturer's announce-
ment last week in an SEC filing
that they plan to "implement a
plan to shift production of motor-
cycles for EU destinations from
the U.S. to its international facili-
ties to avoid the tariff burden."
The newly imposed EU tariffs are
a retaliatory response to Trump's
steel and aluminum tariffs, both
of which amount to costly results
for the Bar and Shield brand.
Harley-Davidson already finds
itself burdened with the steady
decline of domestic sales, and
has stated its goals of focusing
on overseas markets to bolster
growth, aiming to grow its inter-
national sales from 40% to 50%
by 2027. Europe remains a large
key to that growth as the current
the second-largest market for
Harley.
The President criticized the
company on Twitter for "waving
the white flag," and has contin-
ued his attacks throughout the
week, tweeting on Tuesday, Jun
26: "A Harley-Davidson should
never be built in another country-
never! Their employees and cus-
tomers are already very angry at
them. If they move, watch, it will
be the beginning of the end –
they surrendered, they quit! The
Aura will be gone and they will be
taxed like never before!" [sic]
Harley-Davidson says motor-
cycles to be sold in the United
States and Canada will continue
to be made in America, meaning
it does not plan to import foreign-
made units into the U.S. But
the company's statement hasn't
stopped Trump from continuing
to rail against them. On Wednes-
day, Jun 27 he tweeted: "Harley-
Davidson should stay 100% in
America, with the people that got
you your success," adding, "We
won't forget and neither will your
customers…" In an interview on
Sunday, July 1 with Fox News
anchor Maria Bartiromo, Trump
continued to assail the brand,
adding the claim, "Everybody
who ever bought a Harley-David-
son voted for Trump… and they
are very unhappy about it. I feel
that maybe Harley, I think they
are going to take a big hit."
The retaliatory tariffs levied by
the EU apply to more than just
Harley-Davidson. The list in-
cludes motorcycles with engine
cylinder capacity of 500cc and
above, which also ensnares
the entire line of Polaris' Indian
Motorcycle. The company has
remained relatively quiet about
the issue, but in a report from
the Associated Press dated Sat-
urday, June 30, Polaris spokes-
woman Jess Rogers revealed
that the company could move
some production of Indian Mo-
torcycles overseas, from Spirit
Lake, Iowa to Poland. "Nothing
is definitive. We are looking at a
range of mitigation plans," Rog-
ers said.
In its first-quarter earnings,
Polaris stated additional costs
could total $15 million for the
company in the 2018 calendar
year. Rogers added that Polaris
is "definitely seeing an increase
in costs," regarding tariffs and
the escalating trade war, but did
not quote a dollar amount on
what the most recent 25% mo-
torcycle tariff from the EU could
cost the company.
The jobs of hundreds of union
workers, both at Harley Davidson
and Polaris Industries, could be
at stake in the tariff standoff, and
Joe Capra of the International
Association of Machinists &
Aerospace Workers Local 176
spoke on the matter last week in
an NPR interview with Noel King.
