Donald Trump has threatened Harley Davidson that if they go forward with their decision to shift production, then the iconic cruiser manufacturer could be banned in US
European Union hiked import duty for products from US as Trump government increased duties on steel and aluminium imported from Europe. The rise in import duty hiked prices of products from US and this will impact sales as customers will prefer cheaper alternatives.
In recent years, Harley Davidson finally started to get things right in Europe and sales are increasing. But the recent import duty hike will affect the manufacturer heavily as it will increase cost by more than $30 million this year and between $90-$100 million in the next year.
The company decided to shift production of some models from US to other countries, so this duty hike won’t affect them, but this decision has not gone down well with US president, Donald Trump. He has threatened the company that if they go forward with their decision, then the iconic cruiser manufacturer could be banned in US.
In a recent tweet Trump said that “Many Harley Davidson owners plan to boycott the company, if manufacturing moves overseas. Great! Most other companies are coming in our direction, including Harley competitors. A really bad move! U.S will soon have a level playing field or better.” The company is yet to respond.
The American manufacturer is not planning to shift production to Europe, instead they will increase production from its other plants around the world and the upcoming entry level model will be manufactured outside US. The biggest market for Harley Davidson is US, but it is not bringing good numbers lately, which is why the company is looking to explore new markets.
Harley Davidson is developing three new models and they will be introduced by the end of this decade. The upcoming models include new adventure bike and a new small displacement model, which is going to be developed with an Asian company as its partner will help them manufacture the low capacity models at low cost.