Donald Trump revs up at Harley decision to leave US over tariffs
● Trade war called an ‘excuse’ for exit ● Motorcycle firm to move to Asia
Trump has denied his trade policy is to blame for Harley-davidson’s decision to shift some motorcycle production overseas.
The US president declared on Twitter the company was using “Tariffs/trade War as an excuse” to hide previously announced plans to move jobs to Asia.
The Milwaukee company said it had come to the decision because of retaliatory tariffs it faced in the escalating trade dispute between the US and the European Union.
Mr Trump’s retaliation over the commercial decision came as a sharply divided Supreme Court upheld his ban on travel from several mostly Muslim countries.
The court rejected a challenge the ban discriminated against Muslims or exceeded Mr trump’ s authority. the ban prohibits most people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen from entering the US.
The 5-4 decision was a major victory for Mr Trump on an issue central to his presidency.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion for the five conservative justices, including Trump nominee Neil Gorsuch.
Mr Roberts wrote that presidents have substantial power to regulate immigration. He also rejected the challengers’ claim of anti-muslim bias.
But he was careful not to endorse either Trump’s provocative statements about immigration in general or Muslims in particular, including Mr Trump’s campaign pledge to keep Muslims from entering the country.
Mr Trump had earlier warned Harley-davidson that any shift in production “will be the beginning of the end”.
“The Aura will be gone and they will be taxed like never before!” Mr Trump said in one of several tweets yesterday. He was referring to tariffs Harley-davidson would face on motorcycles produced over seas and shipped to the US for sale. The president has held up the iconic motorcycle maker as an example of a US business harmed by trade barriers in other countries, but Harleydavidson had warned tariffs could hit sales.
Mr Trump recently imposed steep tariffs on aluminium and steel imported from Canada, Mexico and Europe in his bid to level the trade playing field and reduce trade deficits between the US and its trade partners.
But those countries have treated the action as an insult and have responded in kind. The US and China are also volleying back and forth over tariffs.
Mr Trump said Harley-davidson had already announced it was closing a Kansas City plant and moving those jobs to Thailand. However, it was union officials representing workers at that plant who claimed the jobs were being shifted to Thailand. Harleydavidson has denied a link between Kansas City and the Asian country.
Mr Trump claimed he was getting other countries to reduce and eliminate tariffs and trade barriers, while opening up markets. He said the administration was finishing a study on imposing tariffs on cars from the EU, which he claimed had taken advantage of the US for too long. “A Harley-davidson should never be built in another country – never!” he tweeted.
America’s zero-tolerance immigration policy was meanwhile scaled back amid a global uproar over the separation of more than 2,300 migrant families.
The move halts the practice of turning over parents to prosecutors for charges of illegally entering the country.
Customs and Border Protection commissioner Kevin Mcaleenan said Mr Trump’s order to stop splitting immigrant families at the border required a temporary halt to prosecuting parents and guardians, unless they had criminal history or the child’s welfare was in question. He insisted the White House’s zero-tolerance policy towards illegal entry remained intact.