Harley Davidson To Move Some Production Outside Of US To Combat Tariffs

Totally predictable. How many US jobs involved in producing the 40,000 bikes the EU imports every year? It's Harley's second largest market. What else can they do? Business has to make a profit. They can't afford to be MAGA fanboys. Tweets don't pay the bills.

Oh well. Maybe these people who worked in the factory in the US can get jobs in the coal industry?

I'm *NOT* a Trumpist, so don't misinterpret the following statement to be pro-Trump:

My understanding is that Harley decided to move some production (1 US-based factory) to Asia *before* Trumpist tariffs were put in place. Some of HD's reasons included:

- Declining product demand in the US (therefore less production capacity needed here). This is true for virtually all motorcycle brands.

- Desire to get around Asian market tariffs by producing HD products in Asia rather than importing them into Asia from the US.


This does not negate the many lies and BS that Trump spouts, but it does highlight some Confirmation Bias: just as Trump Devotees believe nothing is Trump's fault, people who don't like #45 might be inclined to blame him for things that aren't his fault.

Yes, they were already expanding production outside the US. This is only accelerating the process. They are also going to absorb the cost of the tariffs to protect their market and their dealers in the EU from the shock. So not only is it accelerating their move from US production, they taking a big hit to their bottom line. It's not just coal mines remember, there are probably going to be some really good smelter jobs open up too.

Actually - there are LOTS of jobs available in the Trump administration - in fact they just had a job fair for people willing to work at the White House.

Funny - no pictures of the alt-righters standing in line to take the jobs

AS far as HD - it is ingenuous to imply that Trumps trade war was the only or even initial reason to consider moving production out of the USA. Still - it does not bode well for the future of the trade war.

Steve, that sort of balanced, reasonable comment has no place here.

@carloslassiter:
LOL
+1
:-D

And Trump Devotees might be surprised to learn that just because I dislike Trump does *NOT* mean I liked (or voted for) Obama or Hillary, or thought they were great (or honest), or believed they didn't have corruptions of their own flavor.

Binary thinking causes tremendous blindness.

lmao, love it. winning

It's not just motorcycles. Article today in Washington Post regarding America's largest nail company:

Mid-Continent Nail of Poplar Bluff, Mo., the largest U.S. nail manufacturer, cut 60 jobs on June 15 and plans to lay off an additional 200 workers in a few days, citing plummeting sales following the imposition of Trump’s metals tariffs….Mid-Continent Nail imports from Mexico most of the metal wire it uses to make nails. By driving up the company’s costs, Trump’s tariffs are making it nearly impossible for the 500-worker company to compete with cheap nails from China, [George Skarich, vice president of sales and marketing] said.

“The Chinese get a pass and we pay a price,” said Skarich. “Trump ran on jobs and making America great again, but he is making a decision that may help big steel, but it hurts downstream businesses like ours who employ a heck of a lot more people than steel does.”

Are you tired of winning yet???

Indeed. I don't "get" Harley Davidsons. There are cheaper ways to sit on a vibrator.

Maybe we can buy our nails from North Korea?

And wives too, no doubt.

What is the difference between a Harley and a vacuum cleaner? Position of the dirt bag. Harley corporate joke from one the big executives whom was trying to get my dad to manage one of the plants in Racine many years ago...

The BIG reason HD is moving some production offshore is most of the components are made in China with final "Assembly" done in Murica or one of the other plants. HD was doing this to get around inevitable tariffs and to pursue cheaper offshore production and reduce costs. This was long in the making before Trump.

Tariffs work.
Surprise.

the nostalgia of Harleys is fading as people die off period, younger generations don't have any identity to it

I don't know. If they can save themselves 100 million by moving some of their production I hardly think that they are in some deep decline.

Tariffs work.
Surprise.

They work if they are not done in an over blown ham-fisted way. the current occupant of the oval office simply does not understand this premise. Further he likes it when there is total chaos.

"Tariffs work" is a meaningless sentence. Work toward what? temporarily reducing imports? Then what are the resulting consequences of the tariffs? It is a stupid policy from a stupid president.