Harley Davidson will take 'Big Hit' if Production Moves Out of U.S., Says Donald TrumpTop Stories

July 02, 2018 11:55
Harley Davidson will take 'Big Hit' if Production Moves Out of U.S., Says Donald Trump

(Image source from: Zimbio)

The United States President Donald Trump has warned that Harley-Davidson Inc. is going to take "a big hit" for moving some of its motorcycle production abroad and said the American company made the decision even though he got India to cut down import tariff on the iconic motorcycles.

Trump said the Wisconsin-based motorcycle manufacturer risks losing American customers if it shifts production overseas. "I have feeling that maybe Harley, I think they’re going to take a big hit. I just think it’s a great American product. Our people have more pride then they used to have. I really believe that Harley's going to take a hit, the people that are buying Harley-Davidson, they don’t want it built in another country," Trump told media source.

Harley-Davidson has proclaimed that it is moving some of its production abroad to avoid tariffs on bikes sold in the European Union. Trump's move to charge tariffs on steel and aluminum from the European Union and other countries triggered the decision. Trump cautioned against Harley-Davidson moving overseas, saying, "I think that Harley is an American bike. It's an American motorcycle and they should build them in this country."

He accused the American motorcycle maker of using tariffs as an excuse to produce more bikes overseas. "I think I taught them more about tariffs than I could ever learn. I was saying, let me ask you a question. How much do you pay in India? One hundred percent. Oh, really? Do you do much business? No. Why? Because the tariff’s too high," Trump said.

"I'm the one telling them. I said that's a shame. I got them to reduce the tariffs in India because I used that as an example. All of the sudden, Harley leaves. Everyone else is coming in," Trump said.

In February, Trump had said that the Indian government's decision to reduce the tariff on Harley-Davidson motorbikes from 75 percent to 50 percent was not enough and asked that it should be reciprocal, as the U.S. imposes "zero tax" on the import of motorcycles.

The president claimed that everybody, who ever bought a Harley-Davidson voted for him in the 2016 presidential election. "I devoted a lot of time to Harley-Davidson. I treated them good. I guarantee you, everybody that ever bought a Harley-Davidson voted for Trump. I don’t know if you know that. They call them bikers for Trump. There are hundreds," he said.

Harley Davidson is the company which is going out of the country, while "everyone else is coming in", he said, warning that the decision of the company would hit it. Harley-Davidson said that shifting targeted production from the U.S. to international facilities could take at least nine to 18 months to be fully completed.

By Sowmya Sangam

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Tagged Under :
Harley Davidson  US  President  Donald Trump  Tariffs