As the controversy over Harley-Davidson’s decision to move some jobs from the US erupted, a US newspaper reported that the company could move its manufacturing to India.
The iconic motorcycle brand recently announced its plans to shift some of the production overseas against the imposition of steep import tariffs by the European Union, leaving US President Donald Trump “surprised”.
The iconic motorcycle company has manufacturing facilities in Brazil, Thailand and India. India has become a very important market for the Wisconsin-based company after the country became the largest producer of motorcycles last year. Harley-Davidson had opened its manufacturing hub in Gurgaon in 2009 under the Obama administration and has been producing several models for the European market, the US newspaper said.
The company, in its US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing on Monday, said that new retaliatory tariffs by the European Union (an increase from six percent to 31 per cent) will result in an incremental cost of approximately USD 2,200 on an average motorcycle exported from the US to the EU.
The company does not have any manufacturing facility in Europe. Although Harley did not confirm about its next move, the newspaper said “Trump’s trade disputes would have done little to save Harley-Davidson’s U.S. jobs”, it added that “in fact, they may end up helping to move them to the country he wanted to defend the company against.”
Trump took the “tariff war” to India on Tuesday pointing out that “India charges as much as 100 per cent tariff”, he called for the removal of tariffs.
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