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The problems between Harley-Davidson and the White House don’t seem to be coming to an end. President Donald Trump encouraged the riders who planned to boycott Harley-Davidson, via twitter. This though shouldn’t come as a surprise as Harley-Davidson has increasingly found itself at odds with the government.
This spat started with the US withdrawing from the trans-pacific Partnership Trade (TPP) agreement. It got escalated even further when President Trump imposed tariffs on aluminum and steel. This tweet came after President Trump met with ‘Bikers for trump’ supporters. The bikers showed their support towards the President over the brand that has been their beloved for a long time. This on White House’s part seems like a unique strategy as it aims to punish the brand by driving a wedge between its loyal customers and their political ideology.
Harley-Davidson announcing plans to shift production overseas (something that Polaris plans to do with Indian, as well), undermines the President’s bargaining position. Harley-Davidson has already revealed its plans to move into new segments and look towards smaller capacity motorcycles.
Despite the pressure from President Trump, we don’t see Harley-Davidson would buckle to this pressure. Survival simply by keeping their production in the United States does not seem like a feasible option for the American brand because of the tariffs on the raw materials domestically and imports abroad.
Showing support for “Bikers for Trump” certainly isn’t making this transitional period easy for Harley-Davidson. And President Trump hopes to lead Harley-Davidson back down a path towards an “America First” business strategy.
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This spat started with the US withdrawing from the trans-pacific Partnership Trade (TPP) agreement. It got escalated even further when President Trump imposed tariffs on aluminum and steel. This tweet came after President Trump met with ‘Bikers for trump’ supporters. The bikers showed their support towards the President over the brand that has been their beloved for a long time. This on White House’s part seems like a unique strategy as it aims to punish the brand by driving a wedge between its loyal customers and their political ideology.
Harley-Davidson announcing plans to shift production overseas (something that Polaris plans to do with Indian, as well), undermines the President’s bargaining position. Harley-Davidson has already revealed its plans to move into new segments and look towards smaller capacity motorcycles.
Despite the pressure from President Trump, we don’t see Harley-Davidson would buckle to this pressure. Survival simply by keeping their production in the United States does not seem like a feasible option for the American brand because of the tariffs on the raw materials domestically and imports abroad.
Showing support for “Bikers for Trump” certainly isn’t making this transitional period easy for Harley-Davidson. And President Trump hopes to lead Harley-Davidson back down a path towards an “America First” business strategy.
Source
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