Trump says duty on Harley-Davidson still too high
Critics say such restrictions amount to a protectionist move
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticised India for imposing a high import duty on the iconic Harley-Davidson motorcycles and threatened to increase the import tariff on “thousands and thousands” of Indian motorcycles to the US.
During a discussion with members of the Congress on the steel industry, Trump said the recent decision of the Indian government to reduce the tariff from 75 per cent to 50 per cent was not enough and asked that it should be reciprocal, as the US imposes ‘zero tax’ on the import of motorcycles.
“We pay a tremendous tax to get into their countries — motorcycles, Harley-Davidson — it goes into a certain country. I won’t mention the fact that it happens to be India, in this case,” the US President said, amidst laughter from the audience.
Trump also indirectly referred to the recent conversation he had with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard.
“And a great gentleman called me from India and he said, we have just reduced the tariff on motorcycles, reduced it to 50 per cent from 75, and even 100 per cent’,” Trump said in an apparent reference to his last week’s conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“If you are Harley-Davidson, you have 50 to 75 per cent tax, tariff to get your motorcycle, your product in. And yet they sell thousands and thousands of motorcycles, which a lot of people don’t know, from India into the US. You know what our tax is? Nothing!” he told the lawmakers and his Cabinet colleagues.
Trump once again pitched for a “reciprocal tax” on countries that he says “abuse” their trade relationships with the US.
President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that the US was likely to impose restrictions on imported metals, reviving the prospects for a continuing investigation whose future has been called into question amid months of pushback and delays.
Meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers, the president said such restrictions would help save struggling steel companies from foreign competitors that “dump” low-priced metal on American markets. “What we’re talking about is tariffs and/or quotas,” Trump said.
The White House had billed the meeting as a listening session to let lawmakers air concerns about pending actions on aluminum and steel imports, as well as Trump’s infrastructure plan that was proposed on Monday and current trade measures like the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
In April, the president began twin investigations into imports of steel and aluminum under the little used Section 232 of a 1962 trade law, which permits sweeping restrictions to protect national security. Supporters of the action say American metal makers badly need the assistance to survive and continue producing planes, armored vehicles and other products for the military. But the measure also has plenty of critics, who fear that such restrictions amount to a protectionist grab by metal makers and will raise prices for steel and aluminum.
They argue that because the metals are widely used to make other products, other industries — including automobile manufacturers and food packagers — would suffer.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers who gathered at the White House on Tuesday are generally split along party lines on the restrictions. Most Democrats voiced support for the president’s action on metals, and Republicans, with the exception of Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, urged caution. “I committed to continuing to work with him to identify a narrow and targeted remedy that is balanced, effective, protects national security and economic interests across America, and addresses the root problem of China’s distortive practices,” Brady said. Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat at the meeting, said afterward that Trump “seems to understand the
enforcement challenge.” “The biggest question outstanding, of course, is 232 and what kind of tools he finally decides to pursue as the president with respect to America’s position in global markets,” he said.
‘Spend on public works, not West Asia’ Trump pitched his infrastructure plan to a dozen Republican and Democratic lawmakers at a White House meeting
Wednesday, urging them to fund better roads and bridges for Americans instead of wars in the West Asia. “After spending trillions of dollars overseas rebuilding other countries, it’s time to rebuild our own country and to take care of our citizens,” Trump told the lawmakers. “If we have to fix a road, we can’t fix it. If we have to fix a tunnel, we don’t do it because we don’t have the money. We spent $7 trillion in the Middle East.