The quintessential American brand, Harley-Davidson, is shifting some production overseas to avoid EU regulatory tariffs — but not without some commentary from the President Donald Trump.
Even with President Trump’s disapproval, the Milwaukee-based company views offshore production as “the only sustainable option to make its motorcycles accessible to customers in the EU and maintain a viable business in Europe.”
The Trump administration slapped tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from the EU, Mexico, and Canada, earlier this month. The newly imposed tariffs were designed to protect U.S. jobs, but evoked global anger.
In response to Trump’s tariffs, Europeans are targeting the most iconic American products, such as motorcycles, blue jeans, and bourbon. The EU raised U.S. motorcycle tariffs from 6% to 31%. This percent increase adds nearly $2,200 to the cost of an average motorcycle, according to the public filing.
Such a hike in price “would have an immediate and lasting detrimental impact” to Harley-Davidson’s business in the region, the company says. Instead of raising the manufacturer’s suggested retail price to cover the costs of retaliatory tariffs, Harley will eat the costs itself.
Harley-Davidson’s decision to cover short-term costs of the tariffs hit the company’s stock hard on Monday. Shares continued their slide in premarket trade Tuesday. As of 10:15 AM, Harley-Davidson stock is down nearly 2%.
In the close future, Harley-Davidson estimates the incremental cost for the remainder of 2018 to be approximately $30 to $45 million. For the year at large, the company estimates the annual impact due to EU tariffs to be approximately $90 to $100 million. Harley plans to address the tariff burden by shifting production of motorcycles for EU destinations from the U.S. to its international facilities.