Iconic motorcycle manufacturer feels president’s wrath

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump lashed out at Harley-Davidson on Tuesday over the company’s decision to move some production outside the United States, calling it “the beginning of the end” for the iconic motorcycle maker and threatening to respond with punishing taxes.

In a fusillade of tweets beginning shortly after 7 a.m., the president accused the company of using European tariffs as an excuse for manufacturing changes it already had planned; erroneously said Harley had shifted operations from a Kansas City, Missouri, plant to Thailand; and demanded that its famous bikes “never be built in another country – never!”

White House aides say the president feels betrayed by the iconic American manufacturer’s decision to move some production offshore to avoid becoming embroiled in Trump’s trade war with Europe.

His aggrieved tweetstorm – echoed in subsequent comments at the White House – made it clear that he took Harley’s action personally. But the outburst also reflected a president grappling with the effect of policies he expected to produce a more favorable outcome, say trade experts.

Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum will cost Harley up to $20 million this year, with European Union retaliation adding perhaps an additional $45 million, the company said.

Trump’s sudden feud with Harley – an American manufacturer he feted at the White House just last year – pitted a company driven by financial calculation against a businessman president who takes a deeply idiosyncratic and emotional view of global commerce.

In one Tuesday tweet, Trump suggested that Harley was motivated by a hidden agenda, writing: “Harley must know that they won’t be able to sell back into the U.S. without paying a big tax!” Harley has announced no such plans.

“It reveals his misunderstanding or lack of knowledge about the way global supply chains work and the way production works,” said Philip Levy, a White House economist in the George W. Bush administration. “There’s no evidence that the president’s very unorthodox approach to trade negotiations is achieving any results – other than more protectionism.”

While the president complained Tuesday about Europe’s trade barriers, he has not pursued negotiations toward a new treaty that might have eliminated those facing Harley. The EU and Japan, meanwhile, have concluded a trade partnership that will give Harley’s Japanese rivals better access to the European market.

Trump also withdrew the United States from a Pacific trade accord that would have cut tariffs in key Asian markets, a move Harley said forced it to open the plant in Thailand to serve fast-growing markets nearby.

The president’s ire at the Milwaukee-based company, famous for heavy motorcycles known as “hogs,” had its origins in Trump’s belief that he and his heartland supporters share a unique bond with the company.