Harley-Davidson, Inc. To Vigorously Defend Its Position Following Aggressive EU Tariff Ruling
Press Release | April 19, 2021
This is a press release from Harley-Davidson…
Milwaukee, WI (April 19, 2021) – Harley-Davidson, Inc. (“Harley-Davidson”) (NYSE:HOG) has received notification from the Economic Ministry of Belgium, that following a request from the European Union (E.U.), the company would be subject to the revocation of Binding Origin Information (BOI) credentials, effective April 19, 2021.
Harley-Davidson will be lodging an immediate legal challenge to this decision.
Since 2019, the company has operated with BOI regulatory credentials, allowing it to supply its E.U. markets with certain motorcycles produced at its international manufacturing facilities at tariff rates of 6%.
The E.U.’s new ruling will apply to the entire Harley-Davidson product portfolio and will effectively prohibit the company from functioning competitively in Europe. From June 2021, all Harley-Davidson products, regardless of origin, will be subject to a 56% import tariff within the E.U.
European OEMs, including motorcycle manufacturers, will continue operations with significantly lower import tariffs to the U.S. ranging from 1.2% for up to 800cc products to 2.4% for over 800cc products, and with automobiles at 2.5%.
Jochen Zeitz, chairman, president and CEO of Harley-Davidson: “This is an unprecedented situation and underscores the very real harm of an escalating trade war to our stakeholders on both sides of the Atlantic. The potential impact of this decision on our manufacturing, operations and overall ability to compete in Europe is significant. Imposing an import tariff on all Harley-Davidson motorcycles goes against all notions of free trade and, if implemented, these increased tariffs will pose a targeted competitive disadvantage for our products, against those of our European competitors.”
For more information, visit www.harley-davidson.com