Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/798489
IN THE WIND P46 Tariff" (http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/01/ news/india/trump-harley-davidson-tariff/) threw shade on the topic, pointing out the misaligned facts in Trump's comments. Other news stories began to surface from publications like Fortune, Forbes and Fox News pointing out similar miscues in the president's assessment of Harley-David- son's international trade challenges. So what was the deal? Was there a misunder- standing in Trump's conversation with Harley-Da- vidson reps? His mention of a 100 percent tax on motorcycles is eerily similar to the U.S. proposed tariff; is there any connection between the two? We reached out to the Motor Company, seek- ing clarification on these questions and more, regarding the president's comments and Trump's knowledge of the proposed tariff issue, as they understand it. Harley-Davidson Manager of Communications and Corporate Reputation Katie Whitmore re- sponded to our questions: Can you clarify what it was H-D representa- tives spoke to the president about regarding the 100 percent tariff? (i.e., which specific tariff were they discussing?) Among the issues discussed was taxes in excess of 100 percent in countries like Indone- sia and India that place companies like ours at a competitive disadvantage in a global economy. We did not talk about the ongoing agriculture trade issue involving U.S. beef and the EU. Are these two tariff topics in any way linked? The topic of trade with countries like India and Indonesia and the proposed tariff for EU motor- cycles under 500cc are completely unrelated. To your knowledge, is President Trump aware of the 100 percent tariff proposed for EU bikes under 500cc? Was that a topic of discussion at all during the meeting at the White House? We do not have any knowledge of President Trump's awareness of the 100 percent tariff proposed for EU bikes. It was not a topic of our discussion with the president. Seeing as how Harley-Davidson has a CKD plant in Bawal, how is the 100 percent motor- cycle tariff a factor for H-D in India? In India, we incur an import tariff of 100 percent on certain motorcycle models manu- factured in the U.S. and shipped as completed units—not the CKD motorcycles for the India market that are assembled at our Bawal plant from component kits sourced from our U.S. plants. The CKD plant in Bawal, India (near New Delhi) refers to a "Completely Knocked Down" assembly unit where bikes are assembled after parts are imported. According to the Harley-Davidson India website, H-D assembles eight of the 13 models it offers in the country at the Bawal plant. It seems the remaining five units are the bikes that are subject to the 100 percent tax, clarifying the state- ment made by Trump in his address. The bad news is that the "bikes for beef tax" was not a point of discussion with the president. Since Harley only produces one bike under 500cc, and does not compete with any of the potentially affected European companies, it's easy to see why the topic wasn't on the table. The good news is that the Motor Company seems to have struck a good relationship with the Trump administration. No matter your feel- ings about the president or his policies, this could be a good thing. No matter your feelings about Harley-Davidson, they are easily the most recog- nizable brand in motorcycling, and could now be a potential conduit to the White House for all things two-wheeled. And no matter if you run knobbies or saddlebags, this relationship could prove very significant. For more on Harley-Davidson's visit to the White House, check out this interview Harley-Davidson CEO Matt Levatich did with financial publication TheStreet. Jean Turner