Earlier this week, iconic U.S. motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson offered its thoughts on the Trump administration’s recent steel and aluminum tariff announcements. The company stated that if other countries countered with a punitive or retaliatory tariff on its bikes, such a move could have a severe impact on sales.
The European Commission's president threatened to impose tariffs on Harley-Davidson motorbikes if President Trump followed through on a plan that placed a 10 percent tax on imported steel and aluminum. The tariffs are being positioned as a way to safeguard American jobs, but the move has come under criticism from economists, auto companies, the oil industry, and many fellow Republicans.
Echoing these sentiments is an open letter from the Heidi Brock, president and CEO of the Aluminum Association, to President Trump. The association represents over 100 aluminum producers that include Alcoa and Rio Tinto Alcan. These companies employ more than 700,000 U.S. workers.
“We fear that the proposed tariff may do more harm than good,” it states. "Unfortunately, the tariffs proposed will do little to address the fundamental problem of massive aluminum overcapacity in China, while impacting supply chains with vital trading partners who play by the rules," the letter said.
The Trade Partnership, a firm that researches international trade, stated that these tariffs could lead to the U.S. losing as many as 146,000 jobs. Their report estimated that import taxes would boost the steel and aluminum industries, but make things more expensive for those purchasing these metals for the production of other goods, which would lead to job cuts.