Scott Olson/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Harley Davidson has announced it will move production of motorcycles bound for Europe out of the United States to avoid retaliatory European Union tariffs.
In a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said their tariffs increased from 6% to 31%, which would cost customers approximately $2,200 per average motorcycle built in the US and sent to Europe.
In the filing, Harley Davidson says they decided to move production because the cost increase “would have an immediate and lasting detrimental impact to its business in the region.”
The company is facing an estimated $30 to $45 million in costs in 2018 due to the tariffs, which were brought on by President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs.
On a full year basis, the company will face an extra $90-$100 million dollar in costs.
Harley Davison will shift production to international facilities, saying the move will take nine to eighteen months.
They did not say which countries production will be moved to.
Harley Davison is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and employs 5,800 workers. It was also plants in Pennsylvania and Missouri, along with facilities in Brazil, India and Australia.
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