The Harley Davidson Fiasco Proves How Unbelievably Stupid Trump's Trad Policy Really Is.

[TrollBuster9090]

--Trump slaps 10% and 25% tariffs on EU aluminum and steel
--The EU retaliate by slapping a 31% tax on Harley Davidson motorcycles.
--Harley Davidson responds by saying they'll lay off some American worker, and move some of their assembly plants to Europe.
--Trump responds by tweeting childish insults at Harley Davidson. Fair enough, but as much as that 'white flag' insult must have stung the executives at Harley...it doesn't hurt as much as losing a few hundred million dollars.

Okay....now what? Maybe Dear Leader Trump can find a way to force Germany and Japan and Britain to manufacture their cars in the United States?

Um...actually THEY ALREADY DO THAT. For generations, Japanese and European automobile companies have assembled their cars in the United States. The reverse wasn't true. So...congratulations Trump! You HAVE made trade more equitable!


(Incidentally...doesn't this picture just make you want to PUKE? If a motorcycle could cringe....)

[Ohiogal]

1. How is his base gonna spin this one? LOL

[Va Lefty]

2. His base is unreachable. Somehow this is Obama's fault.

[mwooldri]

3. It is simply a company looking after its bottom line.

All major manufacturers do it.

Prime Example: Ford, with its Transit Connect van. It's built in Spain. As a goods vehicle, the US imposes a 25% tariff on imported "trucks". As a passenger vehicle, the tariff drops to 2.5%.

So what does Ford do? Import them as passenger vehicles, and then retrofits them back as cargo vans upon their arrival in the USA.

So if Harley Davidson is now going to sell it's bikes as Made in Thailand rather than Made in USA to avoid 25-30% tariffs then... good on them. It is a good business decision IMO.

[TheFrenchRazor]

6. so companies screwing workers, customers, and citizens is just good business sense? guess the said

said workers, customers, and citizens need to pass laws preventing that from happening.

[ooky]

10. They aren't screwing their customers. They are doing right by them.

If they passed the cost of the tariff off to their European customers it would mean raising the price an average of $2200 per bike. Harley said they would eat that. But they can't do that permanently, they have to move the manufacturing for those motorcycles to a country that doesn't have to pay the tariff that has been opposed on the U.S.

Trump screwed the workers and the citizens, not Harley.

[struggle4progress]

4. .

[JI7]

8. if there was a God they would have punched him right there

[TheFrenchRazor]

5. another reason not to buy a Harley. being "american made" used to be one of their big drawing points

[gratuitous]

7. Trade wars are sooo easy to win

Right, Don?

[moondust]

9. He's stupid. Very low IQ.

He doesn't have anywhere near the depth of understanding of global trade to be making national policy.

Lawrence O'Donnell had a good short segment on trade tonight, talking about how U.S. cars and motorcycles were pretty crappy until quality Japanese and German cars and motorcycles started arriving in the 70s and 80s, forcing U.S. companies to study them and improve their own products.