Euro bikers celebrate Harley amid trade war
BERLIN— All eyeswere onWashington and Beijing as President Donald Trump’s first real tradewar took its first bites Friday.
But one of the day’s most instructive cautionary tales took place in the heart of Europe. The iconic U.S. motorcycle company Harley-Davidson celebrated its 115th birthday Friday in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. (A separate birthday event will be held later this year at the company’s Milwaukee headquarters.)
The Prague bash, which is expected to bring up to 100,000 fans through Sunday — was planned long before Harley-Davidson became the latest victim of Trump’s tariff tumult.
Harley-Davidson announced last week its decision to move some work abroad to escape tariffs on motorcycle imports that the European Union has imposed in response to the president’s earlier tariffs on steel and aluminum.
The EU tariffs, HarleyDavidson said, would have made motorcycles $2,200 more expensive on average, but there was a way out: to produce them somewhere else.
Europe may only account for about 16 percent of Harley-Davidson sales compared to about 50 percent in the United States, but the company still appears willing to draw the president’s ire to defend its slice of the market in countries such as Britain, France and Germany.
Thisweek’s Prague celebration indicates where the company hopes to win over new, younger customers within the next few years. Brands like Harley-Davidson have a global marketplace, which was on full display with the Prague bikefest.
That reality had run headlong into Trump’s “America First” agenda, showing that U.S. companies are likely to take action if the Trump trade policies begin to hurt their bottom lines.
Harley-Davidson was an extra sting to Trump after he touted its U.S. factories. Writing on Twitter last week, Trump said he was “surprised that HarleyDavidson, of all companies, would be the first to wave the White Flag ... I fought hard for them.”
This week, Trump doubled down on his comments, threatening the company.
“Now that HarleyDavidson is moving part of its operation out of theU.S., myAdministration isworking with otherMotor Cycle companies who want to move into the U.S.,” Trump wrote on Twitter. HarleyDavidson did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Friday.
The president’s attacks on their beloved brand were also discussed by some of the tens of thousands of fans who have joined the Prague celebrations since Thursday, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“Some of the decisions Trump’s come up with, I think, are incredibly detrimental to America,” British Harley-Davidson fan Adrian Percival told the Journal Sentinel. “I think it’s forced companies to start thinking about producing outside of the United States to supply into Europe and the rest of theworld.”