Donald Trump says Harley move abroad would be 'beginning of the end'

US President Donald Trump accused Harley-Davidson of using new tariffs on trade as cover for an existing plan to shift some production abroad and threatened the motorcycle manufacturer with a “big tax” on bikes imported to the US if it relocates some plants overseas.

“A Harley-Davidson should never be built in another country — never!” Trump tweeted on Tuesday. “Their employees and customers are already very angry at them. If they move, watch, it will be the beginning of the end — they surrendered, they quit! The Aura will be gone and they will be taxed like never before!”

The company said in a government filing on Monday that it may move some production outside the US in response to European retaliation for the president’s tariffs on imported metals.

But Trump took issue with that in a series of early-morning tweets on Tuesday.

“Early this year Harley-Davidson said they would move much of their plant operations in Kansas City to Thailand. That was long before Tariffs were announced. Hence, they were just using Tariffs/Trade War as an excuse. Shows how unbalanced & unfair trade is, but we will fix it,”Trump said.

The president followed up by warning the company that goods produced overseas and imported back into the US could be taxed. “Harley must know that they won’t be able to sell back into US without paying a big tax!”

Chief Executive Officer Matt Levatich said in April that the factory in Thailand was a “Plan B” that Harley employed after the US abandoned the 11-country Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement Trump withdrew from last year.