EU residents, Harley fans opine about Trump, tariffs
Don’t underestimate our resolve in flap, they say
PRAGUE – Petr Smutny rides a Harley, plays a Gibson guitar and generally admires America. But like many Europeans, he worries that President Donald Trump’s decisions could whipsaw the global economy.
“The way I feel is that America needed a change. Presidents before Trump were too mild, but sometimes he’s a bit crazy,” said Smutny, who works for a Swedish commodities company and lives in Prague.
This weekend, the Czech Republic capital is center stage for Harley-Davidson Inc.’s 115th anniversary celebration in Europe, a prelude to a similar party coming to Milwaukee on Labor Day weekend.
About 100,000 Harley riders from 77 countries are expected at the Prague rally as the company remains in the global spotlight for the European Union imposing a 31 percent tariff on U.S.-made motorcycles.
The EU’s move prompted the company to announce that it will send some motorcycle production from the U.S. to its overseas factories – located in India, Brazil and Thailand – where the bikes can be built and shipped to Europe without steep tariffs.
That prompted a series of angry tweets from Trump, who chastised the Milwaukee-based company for manufacturing motorcycles outside of the U.S. as he attempts to negotiate deals.
Smutny says he understands Trump’s gripes about a trade imbalance with other nations, especially China, so he doesn’t dismiss the president’s actions altogether.
“I like some things he’s doing,” he said, but when Trump imposed steep tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum, it raised metal prices in the U.S. and triggered the cascade of counter tariffs from Europe.
A plethora of Wisconsin goods, including Harleys, cranberries, sweetcorn, ginseng, wood, paper, boats and shoes are on the EU’s list for retaliatory tariffs. Nationwide, the list is much longer, and it includes products such as Kentucky bourbon, peanut butter and oranges. The tit-for-tat trade war that has pitted the U.S. against the EU, Canada and Mexico threatens to drive up prices across the board.
“In the long run, it will not help America because you’re going to have inflation, higher prices. People will lose jobs,” Smutny said.
Outside a Harley-Davidson dealership in Prague, Daniel Baudys pauses for a moment before opining about Trump. He dreams of owning a Harley.
For now, he can’t afford it. And like many Europeans, he worries about the political fallout from powerful world leaders such as Trump.
“Donald Trump, for me, is like a character from a comics strip. Everything I hear about him, from 10,000 kilometers away, can be changed 10,000 times, so I’m not sure what’s true. … But I am worried about democracies all over the world,” Baudys said.
Many Europeans say it would be a serious mistake for Trump to underestimate their resolve in a trade war. “We can’t let him do anything he wants without saying something,” said Fred Lediouris, who lives in France near the Belgian border.
It’s early enough in the trade war that many Europeans haven’t noticed much change in their lives, according to an informal poll on the streets of Prague.
“We just know prices will come up. We will feel it,” said Agnese Valonova, a pharmacist from Latvia.