Trump Gets Harley Plans Wrong in Attack Over Trade War ‘Excuse’
- President incorrectly connects U.S. and Thailand plant moves
- Threat to tax imported Harleys is unlikely to be relevant
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President Donald Trump accused Harley-Davidson Inc. of using his trade war with the European Union as an excuse to move production overseas. But his latest attacks on Twitter were factually incorrect about the motorcycle maker’s plans.
A day after Harley said it would shift output of bikes destined for EU markets out of the U.S. to avoid 31 percent tariffs, Trump cited two earlier decisions Harley made to open a new plant in Thailand and close one in Missouri. Trump incorrectly said Harley was moving production to Asia from the U.S., when in fact the expansion in Thailand was unrelated to the closing in Missouri.