During his recent “Address to Congress,” one of the most important annual political speeches, new President Donald Trump spoke about motorcycles, in what would have been the first time in the history of the United States Congress, or almost.
To put the situation in perspective, let us recall that the new President decided to go to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, shortly after his election, to visit the Harley-Davidson factories and give a speech on the subject of American industry. The factory employees having decided to give him a hellish welcome that he would remember for a long time, Trump canceled his plan, and only representatives of Harley's management went to Washington, as seen in the photo above in front of the White House.
It was this interview with Harley bosses that Trump mentioned before Congress: “ At our meeting, I asked the Harley-Davidson representatives how things were going, how was the company doing? They told me it was going well. I further asked them, how is it going with other countries, mainly for international sales?
“They told me – without even complaining, because they have been so mistreated for so long that they have become accustomed – that it is very difficult to do business with other countries, because they tax our products at a very high rate. They told me that in the case of a country, their motorcycles are taxed at 100 percent.
“They didn’t even ask for a change. But me, yes.
“I firmly believe in free trade, but it must also be fair trade. It’s been a long time since we’ve had fair trade. »
To understand what Trump means, it helps to know some explanations, presented here by Katie Whitmore, Harley-Davidson Manager of Communications and Corporate Reputation. : “ Among the issues discussed were import taxes of more than 100 percent in countries like Indonesia and India that place companies like ours at a competitive disadvantage in a global economy ».
The Trump Administration is currently working on a project aimed at taxing European motorcycles of less than 500 cc (editor's note: mainly all-terrain vehicles) entering the United States as a retaliatory measure for the importation of American beef into Europe. This measure from the Office of the United States Trade Representatives (USTR) is separated from the Harley subject for Katie Whitmore " The topic of trade with countries like India and Indonesia and the proposed tariff for EU motorcycles under 500 cc are completely unrelated ».
Harley-Davidson manufactures 13 CKD (Completely Knocked Down) models at its factory in Bawal, India (near New Delhi). “ In India, we pay a 100 percent import duty on certain models of motorcycles manufactured in the United States, but this is not the case for CKD motorcycles for the India market which are assembled in our factory of Bawal from component kits from our American factories ».
Two remarks: this is the first time that we have seen a President of the United States interested in motorcycles and especially talking about them before Congress.
And it's not tomorrow that we'll see Donald on a Honda.
Photo © San Francisco Chronicle
