Harley Davidson

E HARLEY sai4 adding that one country -- taxed the mlotorcycles at 100?;. HOg Wild z&=oF4F =U-z ==z C ontinue d fr om the pri or page car makers, which collectively have less than L% of the Japa- nese market and lag behind German makers. '1 get a sensation &at I can- not get from Japanese-made ones," said Mr. Takeuchi, who recently bought a Harley-Da- vidson "The beefiness and tJte sound are unique to Harley." In 20fQ the company sold more than 10,000 motorcycles in Japan. In his address to Congress Tuesday, Mr. I?ump recounted a discussion he had with Harley executives about their interna- tional business sn their reeent visit to the lVhite House. '"Ihey told me-without ev€n com- plaining because they have been misffeated for so long that they have become used to it-that it is very hard to do business with other countries because they tax our goods at such a high rate,' Mr; Trump '"[hey werenlt even asking for change. But I am," Mr. Trump said. The president didn't identifii the country with the 100% tax or tarifi but at least two Asian countries fit the description. India applies a 100% import duty on motorcycles, according to the countfs Central Board of Excise and Customs website. In Indonesia meanwhile, the governrnent in 2013 increased a tax on imported luxury goods that applies to Harley-Davidson motorcycles to L25% fr om 7 5o/o, That and other factors led the Harley-Davidson dealer in [rdo- nesia to dosg but recently a new dealer opened in Jakarta. A Harley-Davidson spokes- woman suggested Mr. Trump may have had Indonesia in mind. 'We had a positive con- versation with the president on U.S. manufacturing," she said in an email. "Among tlle issues discussedwas taxes in eurcesp of 100% in counties like Indonesia that place companies like ours Harley-Davidson's annual motorcycle sales, by region ?*o--Q-!tl_o_-q:.el!. USandCanada 2010 'r2 '14 ',r6 '!lncludes Middle East and Africa Source: the company THO yALL STREET JOUBNAL. at a competitive disadvantage in a globa] economy." In India trade bariers have influenced Harley-Davidson's business strategy. The company set up an Indian assembly plant in2010 to avoid higher taxes on its motorcycles. And it intro- duced a motorcycle with a smaller engine in 2014, which the company said it hoped would help drive sales in the country. Most motorcycles rid- ers in India use two-wheelers with smaller engines than are typically found on a Harley. India places high tariffs on a variety of lurury imports. Ilose tariffs and other barriers such as local-ownership rules have long been a point of contention between New Delhi and Wash- ington. Japan, on t}te other hand doesnlt have tariffs on imported cars or motorcycles, but companies do have to meet pollution and noise regulations to get their vehicles on Japa- nese streets.

Harley executives have also cited the strengthening ofthe U.S. dollar as an impediment to international sales. A sEon- ger dollar makes its motorcy- cles more expensive overseas. -Anant Kala in New Delhi and I Made Sentana in Jakarta contributed to this article. LatinAmedca AshPaciffc Eurcpe. A Harley'Davidson showroom in Tokyo. The motorcycle maker has fared better than U.S. auto brands ln the Japanese market.