Trump vows to 'reciprocate' against EU tariffs after Harley reports nearly 27% drop in profit

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: CNBC

TRANSPORTATION
Trump vows to ‘reciprocate’ against EU tariffs after Harley reports nearly 27% drop in profit
PUBLISHED TUE, APR 23 2019 • 7:21 AM EDT UPDATED 27 MIN AGO

KEY POINTS

• President Trump says European Union tariffs hitting Harley Davidson are “unfair.”

• He pledges to retaliate after the company posted first-quarter profit that fell 26.8%.

• Harley says falling demand, higher costs from U.S. tariffs on raw materials and European taxes on imports of its motorcycles hurt its earnings.

President Donald Trump appeared to reverse course on Harley Davidson on Tuesday, pledging to retaliate against “unfair” European Union tariffs that the company partially blamed for its nearly 27% drop in first-quarter profit. ... Trump, who called for a boycott against the motorcycle company last year amid a spat over steel, said that the EU tariffs have forced Harley to move U.S. jobs overseas. “So unfair to U.S. We will Reciprocate!” he said in a tweet.
....

Harley said Tuesday that falling demand, higher costs from U.S. tariffs on raw materials and European taxes on imports of its motorcycles hurt its earnings. ... Here’s how the company did compared with what Wall Street expected:

• Adjusted earnings: 98 cents per share vs. 65 cents per share forecast in a survey of analysts by Refinitiv.

• Revenue: $1.19 billion vs. $1.19 billion forecast by Refinitiv.

Harley said first-quarter net income was $127.9 million on consolidated revenue of $1.38 billion, compared to $174.8 million on consolidated revenue of $1.54 billion in 2018, a decline of 26.8%. ... Its revenue from motorcycles and related products fell 12.3% from a year earlier to $1.19 billion.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/23/harley-davidson-q1-2019-earnings.html

---

From the New York Post:

Trump vows to protect Harley-Davidson after earnings beat expectations
By Reuters April 23, 2019 | 10:59am | Updated

https://nypost.com/2019/04/23/trump-vows-to-protect-harley-davidson-after-earnings-beat-expectations/

-- -- -- --

Remember, trade wars are easy.

When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win. Example, when we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, don’t trade anymore-we win big. It’s easy!

Link to tweet

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Classic Trump: He takes a bad situation he created in the first place and makes it worse.

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. If he tried to ride a Harley his asscheeks would

get road burn.

[47of74]

6. Oh GOD. Trying very hard not to picture that.

[Jim__]

3. That's sort of like reciprocating against the reciprocation, isn't it?

I wonder how far we can go down this rabbit hole.

[CentralMass]

4. He must be a Russian asset.

[DetlefK]

5. To be honest: The era of Harley Davidson bikers is coming to an end culturally.

Those bikes and the biker-culture were a counter-reaction to the economic situation after WWII. Foreign imports and industrialization meant that uneducated workers were no longer employable. They were losers.

The iconic bike and the biker-culture were a demonstrative counter-reaction of hating the system that had let them down and of buying american.

Nowadays, a Harley Davidson is no longer a sign of being an outsider and rebel against the system. It no longer has a political meaning.

[mitch96]

11. "coming to an end culturally."

Agreed.. I was at Bikeweek at Daytona Beach.. Nothing but geezers like my self. When the boomers can't ride anymore it will be little more than an interesting footnote in history..
I like to ride and I ride the "other" H.... Honda..
m

[hatrack]

7. Huh. $25,000 motorcycles aren't selling . . . .

Someone must PAY!!!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

8. After encouraging Harley-Davidson boycott, Trump blames EU for weak sales

This is from the York Dispatch, in Pennsylvania. HD has a factory in York.

After encouraging Harley-Davidson boycott, Trump blames EU for weak sales
Rebecca Klar, York Dispatch Published 10:53 a.m. ET April 23, 2019 | Updated 1:38 p.m. ET April 23, 2019

President Donald Trump, who blessed a Harley-Davidson boycott last summer, shifted to supporting the company after it announced lower first-quarter sales, which the iconic motorcycle-maker blamed in part on increased tariffs.

The company, with a large plant in Springettsbury Township, last year announced plans to move some facilities overseas due to tariffs imposed by the European Union in retaliation for Trump's tariffs on EU products.

The announcement drew the president's ire.

Trump said in an August 2018 Tweet that it was "great" that "many Harley-Davidson owners plan to boycott the company if manufacturing moves overseas." ... But in a Thursday morning tweet, the president commiserated with the company and pledged retaliation. ... "So unfair to U.S. We will Reciprocate!" he wrote.
....

Harley-Davidson said in a company release that operating income decreased due to lower revenues, unfavorable product mix and increased tariffs. ... The company is also grappling with finding new customers. Harley-Davidson aims to garner 2 million new riders in the U.S. through 2027 with it's More Roads plan.

— Rebecca Klar can be reached at [e-mail] or via Twitter @RebeccaKlar_.

After encouraging Harley-Davidson boycott, Trump blames EU for weak sales https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/news/2019/04/23/after-encouraging-harley-davidson-boycott-trump-blames-eu-weak-sales/3548139002/ … via @YorkDispatch

Link to tweet

[33taw]

9. I hope the Harley Davidson workers in Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington county are listening!!

Probably not though. WI needs to push the impact of this.

[sinkingfeeling]

10. Didn't he say farmers and businesses would be happy to have a little pain

when they objected to his tariffs?

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiG9d2U6ebhAhXKmq0KHcWaDVIQzPwBegQIARAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fchicago.suntimes.com%2Fcolumnists%2Fpresident-donald-trump-voters-tariffs-trade-war-cupp%2F&psig=AOvVaw3WbAkyyKAhbUj12VClsilE&ust=1556129740948550

[BigmanPigman]

17. Yes, he said that right now it may be bad for them

but they will understand that this sacrifice now will lead to benefits for them in the near future. Bannon said the same thing.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

12. The Kansas City Star: Harley-Davidson tops estimates, but sales decline

No local story from them.

Harley-Davidson tops estimates, but sales decline
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
APRIL 23, 2019 11:23 AM, UPDATED 1 HOUR 59 MINUTES AGO

MILWAUKEE

Harley-Davidson reported a decline in motorcycles sales in the U.S. and abroad as it continues to adapt to an aging clientele while navigating the costs of higher tariffs on its motorcycles shipped overseas.

President Donald Trump, who last summer supported calls for a boycott of the company after it announced it was moving some of its production outside the U.S., went to Twitter on Tuesday to call the European tariffs "unfair."

Harley-Davidson has been trying to make up for declining U.S. ridership by targeting overseas markets, a plan which has been hamstrung by the recent tariff wars. The company has been absorbing much of the costs of higher steel and aluminum prices due to the tariffs and previously estimated that foreign tariffs could cost it up to $100 million a year.

Harley-Davidson said it shipped 58,891 motorcycles in the first quarter compared with 63,944 a year ago. For the full year it expects to ship 217,000 to 222,000 motorcycles, including between 65,500 and 70,500 in the second quarter.

The company's U.S. motorcycle sales declined 4.2% and international sales fell 3.3% in the quarter.
....

[theophilus]

13. Vroom Vroom? WompWomp! Thanks Trump! n/t

[Liberalhammer]

14. HD business model is what's hurting it the most.

The average income of the ageing Republican white male Harley owner is 80,000 a year. That was in the early 2000. They are dying off.

They make huge gas guzzling loud bikes that are in the 5 figures.

They have failed in forgein markets because of this. They do not make an affordable reliable bike for the masses.

[yaesu]

15. My last Harley was a 1958 Sportster XLH

shipped it off to japan a few years ago, just didn't ride it much.

[keithbvadu2]

16. Thank you Donald for the Trump economy.

Thank you Donald for the Trump economy.

Sarcasm?

[truthisfreedom]

18. Last bellow of the dinosaurs.

Harley should create the world’s coolest toughest electric bike. Wave of the future. Electric bikes are wicked quick.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

19. Ask, and ye shall receive.

Virgin Racing's Formula E Team Will Be Sponsored By, Uh, Harley-Davidson

RACING
Virgin Racing's Formula E Team Will Be Sponsored By, Uh, Harley-Davidson

Elizabeth Blackstock
Today 9:07am

In what may be one of the most initially confusing news items you’ll read today, Harley-Davidson is partnering with the Envision Virgin Racing Formula E team. A motorcycle brand sponsoring electric open-wheel racing? Yes, you’re reading that right.

It’s perplexing, but might make more sense than you initially think. Later this year, Harley is releasing its first-ever electric motorcycle, the LiveWire, and is said to be focusing more on electric and mobility products as it struggles to find a way into the future after doubling down on selling huge cruisers to Baby Boomers. ... Since Formula E is currently the most prominent form of EV racing, it makes sense for Harley-Davidson to partner with them in a bid to promote its newest product. This three-year deal comes into effect this weekend during the Paris ePrix.

It’s unclear how much money Harley is funneling into FE, but it sounds like this is an effort on their part to draw some international attention and to rebrand themselves as a more eco-friendly manufacturer with its hands in a lot more than just loud rumble buggies for the big beef boys in leather parkas.

The really interesting part is Harley couldn’t have picked a better team. Envision Virgin Racing is currently holding a steady second place in the constructor’s championship, and it has established itself as a top-contending team since the very first FE race in 2014. ... If there’s any team for Harley to bet on, it would be Virgin Racing.
....

Go back one month:

Harley-Davidson Sees 'Opportunity' in E-Scooters and E-Bicycles

Go back five years:

Harley-Davidson introduces electric motorcycle