The relationship flipped after Harley announced plans earlier this summer to shift production of bikes destined for Europe to overseas facilities. It acted after Trump's administration imposed steel and aluminum tariffs that promoted retaliatory measures from the European Union that Harley-Davidson said would increase its costs by $US2,200 ($3,025) for each bike shipped there.

Harley doesn't sell motorcycles in the US that are built overseas, and the company has said that won't change.

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On Sunday, it referred to comments by Chief Executive Officer Matthew Levatich in an interview with CNBC July 30. Levatich said then that Harley-Davidson prefers to supply customers around the world from the US Still, it has set up manufacturing internationally over the last two decades because trade and tariff restrictions in certain markets may make them prohibitive, and the company may lose access to some customers based on price, according to a transcript of the interview.

Trump's pronouncement came a day after he welcomed biker supporters to his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, and a New York Times article cited some Harley-Davidson owners criticising the company at a rally in Sturgis, South Dakota.