President Trump announced Tuesday that his administration is collaborating with Harley-Davidson’s competitors after the motorcycle manufacturer shifted some of its production outside the U.S. to avoid retaliatory tariffs imposed by the European Union after Trump slapped the trading bloc with metals duties.
“Now that Harley-Davidson is moving part of its operation out of the U.S., my Administration is working with other Motor Cycle companies who want to move into the U.S. Harley customers are not happy with their move – sales are down 7% in 2017,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “The U.S. is where the Action is!”
Now that Harley-Davidson is moving part of its operation out of the U.S., my Administration is working with other Motor Cycle companies who want to move into the U.S. Harley customers are not happy with their move – sales are down 7% in 2017. The U.S. is where the Action is!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2018
In May, the Trump administration ended exemptions for Europe, Canada, and Mexico from 25 percent tariffs on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum. The EU responded by introducing its own levies on almost $3.4 billion in U.S. products, such as bourbon and orange juice.
Harley-Davidson’s decision has provoked Trump’s ire given ongoing criticism of the White House for sparking a trade war with traditional U.S. allies.
He defended his unorthodox response, weighing in on the strategy of an American company, in an interview with Fox News on Sunday.
“I devoted a lot of time to Harley-Davidson,” Trump told Fox News. “Everyone that ever bought a Harley-Davidson voted for Trump.”
