And just like that, President Trump’s love affair with Harley-Davidson backfired.
Trump warned in a tweet Tuesday that it “will be the beginning of the end” for the Milwaukee-based Hog maker if the company moves production from the US. The tweet was one of several aimed at the iconic American motorcycle maker after it announced Monday that it planned to manufacture European-destined motorcycles overseas to avoid tariffs.
The fiery tweets — pumped out over a 16-hour span — mark how quickly the administration’s attitude toward the American manufacturer cooled.
“Surprised that Harley-Davidson, of all companies, would be the first to wave the White Flag,” Trump said in a tweet late Monday, accusing Harley of using tariffs as an excuse for outsourcing.
It was nearly 17 months ago — two weeks after taking office — that Trump welcomed Harley executives and reps from the steelworkers union into the White House.
“What a great, great group of people and what a fantastic job you do,” Trump fawned at the time while seated next to Harley chief executive Matt Levatich.
And Trump was all smiles with the Harley team as they stood on the White House lawn marveling at the array of motorcycles the Harley executives rode in on.
But all that changed with Harley’s announcement Monday. Retaliatory measures taken by the European Union created a nearly five-fold increase in tariffs, Harley said in a regulatory filing.
The 31 percent tariff — up from 6 percent — added $2,200 to the cost of a motorcycle exported to Europe.
The move was “not the company’s preference” but represented the “only sustainable option” to “maintain a viable business in Europe,” the company said.
And like a scorned lover, Trump was swift in his rebuke, firing off his first angry tweet Monday evening and continuing into Tuesday morning.
“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,” Trump tweeted, his anger leading him to wrongly conflate two recent measures taken by Harley.
Harley said in January that it would close its Kansas City, Mo., plant due to “the current business environment.” It added that production would be shifted to its York, Pa., facility — not overseas.
The January announcement came as Harley struggled to maintain ridership in recent years. Globally, Harley sold 6.7 percent fewer motorcycles in 2017 compared to 2016 with the steepest drop being in the US, where sales fell 8.5 percent.
As for Trump’s accusations about the still-in-construction Thailand plant, Harley said it was being built to develop the brand’s Southeast Asian following and avoid a 60 percent tariff on motorcycle imports.
Nevertheless, Trump was on a roll.
“Harley must know that they won’t be able to sell back into U.S. without paying a big tax!” Trump tweeted.
All US motorcycles are assembled in the US, a Harley spokesperson confirmed.