Trump threatens Harley with higher taxes after bike maker unveils move overseas

Rick Barrett | Milwaukee

Show Caption Hide Caption Harley-Davidson is hitting the road to Thailand The Milwaukee-based company blames retaliatory European tariffs in for moving some of their production overseas.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday continued his scolding of Harley-Davidson Inc. for its plans to move production of motorcycles destined for the European Union to factories in Thailand, India and Brazil.

Tuesday morning, Trump tweeted: "A Harley-Davidson should never be built in another country-never! Their employees and customers are already very angry at them. If they move, watch, it will be the beginning of the end - they surrendered, they quit! The Aura will be gone and they will be taxed like never before!"

"When I had Harley-Davidson officials over to the White House, I chided them about tariffs in other countries, like India, being too high. Companies are now coming back to America. Harley must know that they won’t be able to sell back into U.S. without paying a big tax!"

A Harley-Davidson should never be built in another country-never! Their employees and customers are already very angry at them. If they move, watch, it will be the beginning of the end - they surrendered, they quit! The Aura will be gone and they will be taxed like never before! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2018

....When I had Harley-Davidson officials over to the White House, I chided them about tariffs in other countries, like India, being too high. Companies are now coming back to America. Harley must know that they won’t be able to sell back into U.S. without paying a big tax! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2018

Surprised that Harley-Davidson, of all companies, would be the first to wave the White Flag. I fought hard for them and ultimately they will not pay tariffs selling into the E.U., which has hurt us badly on trade, down $151 Billion. Taxes just a Harley excuse - be patient! #MAGA — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2018

More Money: $47,000 air ambulance bill for their child shocks family; the insurance company said it would pay $5,000

More Money: General Electric to spin off GE Healthcare, offload Baker Hughes oilfield services

More Money: Exclusive: Limit Trump tariffs, businesses tell Congress in letter

Harley says it's making the production moves in response to the European Union slapping steep tariffs on motorcycles made in the U.S.

The company said the impact of the 31 percent tariffs, up from 6 percent previously, could be $100 million per year on the company, or roughly $2,200 per motorcycle.

“Harley-Davidson believes the tremendous cost increase, if passed onto its dealers and retail customers, would have an immediate and lasting detrimental impact to its business in the region, reducing customer access to Harley-Davidson products and negatively impacting the sustainability of its dealers’ businesses,” the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Video: America First tax cuts didn't save Harley's Kansas City plant America First tax cuts didn't save Harley-Davidson's Kansas City plant

About 16 percent of all new Harley-Davidson motorcycles are sold in Europe, a figure that’s been steady and is second in revenue only to the U.S. market. About 43 percent of the company's bikes are sold outside the U.S., and Harley has set a goal of raising that to about 50 percent.

Harley plans to open a motorcycle assembly plant in Thailand this year, as the tariff on motorcycles assembled in the U.S. is about 60 percent in Thailand, according to the company.

Harley already has assembly plants in India and Brazil. The company's Street-model motorcycles are made in India for Italy, Spain and Portugal.

More: Trump accuses Harley-Davidson of being 'first to wave the white flag' on trade

More: Harley-Davidson to move some motorcycle production out of US after EU tariffs

"Europe is a critical market for Harley-Davidson," the company said, adding that it sold nearly 40,000 motorcycles there in 2017.