26 June 2018•Update: 26 June 2018
By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
President Donald Trump ripped Harley-Davidson on Tuesday after the company announced it would shift some of its production abroad in an effort to mitigate the effects of a trade spat with the EU that Trump initiated.
"A Harley-Davidson should never be built in another country-never!" the American president said on Twitter. "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!"
The EU last Friday began slapping the U.S. with retaliatory tariffs on goods including Harley-Davidson products following Trump's decision to hit the 28-nation bloc with steel and aluminum duties.
The motorcycle company has long prided itself on its made-in-America image and said Monday the decision to shift production overseas was not its preference.
Harley-Davidson sold roughly 40,000 motorcycles in the EU last year, making it the second largest market after only the U.S. and its largest foreign market.
The Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based company said if it did not send production overseas the additional cost for European consumers would be roughly $2,200 per motorcycle. It said it is "fully engaged" with U.S. and EU officials "to find sustainable solutions to trade issues and rescind all tariffs that restrict free and fair trade," and expects to lose up to $100 million per year due to EU tariffs.
The company estimates that increasing its production outside of the U.S. to stave off the economic burden will take between nine and 18 months to complete.
In response, Trump said the tariffs were just "an excuse" from Harley-Davidson to shift production out of the U.S.
"Early this year Harley-Davidson said they would move much of their plant operations in Kansas City to Thailand. That was long before Tariffs were announced. Hence, they were just using Tariffs/Trade War as an excuse. Shows how unbalanced & unfair trade is, but we will fix it," he said.
The plant in Rayong, Thailand that Trump referred to is reportedly planned to open later this year.
