WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson Inc with higher taxes and said their business would suffer in a public backlash over its decision to move production for European customers overseas.
“A Harley-Davidson should never be built in another country-never! Their employees and customers are already very angry at them. If they move, watch, it will be the beginning of the end - they surrendered, they quit! The Aura will be gone and they will be taxed like never before!” Trump said.
“Harley must know that they won’t be able to sell back into U.S. without paying a big tax!”
It was unclear what taxes Trump was referring to, and why the company might have to pay them since it intends to maintain production in the United States as well.
Harley-Davidson said on Monday it will move production of motorcycles shipped to the EU from the United States to its international facilities and forecast that the trading bloc’s tariffs would cost the company $90 million to $100 million a year.
The president, in a series of Twitter posts that reflected his anger over the decision, also suggested the iconic American brand was using trade tensions over tariffs as an excuse to move production.
“Early this year Harley-Davidson said they would move much of their plant operations in Kansas City to Thailand. That was long before Tariffs were announced. Hence, they were just using Tariffs/Trade War as an excuse,” Trump said on Twitter.
Harley-Davidson representatives did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.
Harley shares fell nearly 1 percent to $41.24 in early trading.
The Milwaukee-based company decided to build the Thailand plant last year after Trump pulled out from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which
