IN
THE
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HARLEY-DAVIDSON CITES EU TARIFFS IN
MOVING PRODUCTION OVERSEAS
H
arley-Davidson is in mainstream
news headlines again this
week after announcing in a public
filing with the Securities and Ex-
change Commission on Monday,
June 25 that it will shift some of its
motorcycle production overseas
in order to avoid retaliatory tariffs
imposed by the European Union.
The EU announced 25% tariffs on
Harley-Davidson motorcycles in re-
sponse to President Trump's steel
and aluminum tariffs.
Harley-Davidson explained
that the 25% increase effectively
raises the tariff from 6% to 31%,
and would tack on an additional
$2200 (on average) to each unit
exported from the U.S. to the EU.
The Wisconsin-based company
estimates that the annual impact of
the cost increase will total $90 to
$100 million.
"To address the substantial
cost of this tariff burden long-term,
Harley-Davidson will be implement-
ing a plan to shift production of
motorcycles for EU destinations
from the U.S to its international
facilities to avoid the tariff burden,"
the company stated in the filing.
"Harley-Davidson expects ramping-
up production in international plants
will require incremental investment
and could take at least 9 to 18
months to be fully complete."
President Trump has already hit
back with a response to Harley-Da-
vidson's announcement, claiming
via Twitter that he "fought hard for
them" and that they would ultimate-
ly not have to pay the European
Union's tariffs.
A tweet on Monday afternoon
read: "Surprised that Harley-Da-
vidson, of all companies, would be
the first to wave the White Flag. I
fought hard for them and ultimately
they will not pay tariffs selling into
the E.U., which has hurt us badly
on trade, down $151 Billion. Taxes
just a Harley excuse – be patient!"
[sic]
In a previous tweet sent on Sun-
day afternoon, Trump addressed
world leaders on the topic of trade,
declaring, "The United States is
insisting that all countries that have
placed artificial Trade Barriers and
Tariffs on goods going into their
country, remove those Barriers &
Tariffs or be met with more than
Reciprocity by the U.S.A. Trade
must be fair and no longer a one
way street!" [sic]
The SEC filing is what Harley-
Davidson calls a "forward-looking
statement," and at this point the
Motor Company has not detailed
its plans regarding where exactly
it will move production to, nor did
it identify which US factories might
be affected. Harley-Davidson cur-
rently has factories in York, Penn-
sylvania; Kansas City, Missouri and
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. The
company already announced in
January, following a sharp drop in
domestic sales, that the Missouri
plant will close in 2019.
"Harley-Davidson maintains a
strong commitment to U.S.-based
manufacturing which is valued by
riders globally. Increasing interna-
