A German business agency has called on Harley-Davidson to start up operations in Berlin after the iconic US motorbike maker said it would move some of its production abroad in response to a trade dispute between the United States and the European Union.

The head of the Berlin Partner agency, Stefan Franzke, told German daily Tagesspiegel that he made the suggestion in a letter to Harley-Davison's Chief Executive Matthew Levatich.

Frankze advertised Berlin's "dynamism" in the "heart of Europe" and told Levatich that the city already hosted a BMW motorbike factory.

Read more: Harley-Davidson: The iconic symbol of the American dream

'You are looking for freedom?'

"But most of all, Berlin is the city of freedom," Franzke wrote in the letter he wrote on US Independence Day headed: "You are looking for freedom? Freedom Machine Berlin is our answer."

Harley-Davidson: The cult motorcycle on screen Sons of Anarchy A television series with a story that takes up the never-ending battle between the good guys and the bad guys. As the series is all about biker gangs, it's to be expected that motorcycles abound in it. Almost without exception, the members of the gang Sons of Anarchy, all clad in black, drive Harley Davidson Dynas. But some of them also have Fat Boys and Street Glides in their garage.

Harley-Davidson: The cult motorcycle on screen Easy Rider The 1969 road movie immediately achieved cult status. To this day, motorcycle fans venerate the two beefed-up Harleys driven by desperados Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda across Dixieland. Fonda's bike "Captain America" achieved its own particular cult status. An imitation of it sold at an auction for more than one million euros making it the world's most expensive motorcycle.

Harley-Davidson: The cult motorcycle on screen Pulp Fiction Motorcycles just aren't all the same. That's clearly explained in a short dialogue in Quentin Tarrantino's masterwork. Butch (Bruce Willis) is in an extreme hurry and wants to rescue his girlfriend. When she asks him how he came into the possession of the bike, he impatiently answers: "It's not a motorcycle, baby. It's a Chopper."

Harley-Davidson: The cult motorcycle on screen Harley-Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991) In this action film, Mickey Rourke and Don Johnson play two bikers who try to bail out a friend with 2.5 million dollars. They attack a money transporter, but instead of looting a load of dough, they steal drugs. On their two Harleys, they're always a bit faster than their angry pursuers. The movie achieved cult status, especially because of the "performance" of the Harleys.

Harley-Davidson: The cult motorcycle on screen Terminator 2 "I need your clothes, your boots and your bike," says the Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to a biker in a honky-tonk bar. Following a short fight, the Terminator, clad in a leather outfit and sunglasses, mounts the bike — a Harley Davidson Fat Boy. On the picture above, Schwarzenegger proudly presents the cult motorcycle during the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. Author: Silke Wünsch (ad)



Harley-Davison announced in late June that it was planning to move some of its motorbike production abroad to circumvent EU tariffs on US motorbikes. The bloc enacted the duties in retaliation to US President Donald Trump's decision to slap tariffs on EU steel and aluminum.

Trump: 'Beginning of the end'

Trump slammed the company in response, writing on Twitter that it risked "the beginning of the end" if it went ahead with the plans.

A Berlin Partner spokesman told DPA news agency that Harley-Davison had not yet replied to Franzke's letter.

Franzke said he had not advertised Berlin to other US companies targeted by EU retaliatory tariffs, but would do so if they voiced interest in moving their production abroad.

amp/jm (AFP, dpa)

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