Harley-Davidson will not raise prices to cover tariff costs

[June 25, 2018]  (Reuters) - Harley-Davidson Inc <HOG.N> said on Monday it would not raise retail or wholesale prices for its dealers to cover the costs of the retaliatory tariffs by the European Union on U.S. products.

The logo of U.S. motorcycle company Harley-Davidson is pictured at the "Hamburg Harley Days" in Hamburg, Germany, June 24, 2018. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer

The tremendous expense if passed onto its dealers and retail customers would have a lasting detrimental impact to its business in the region, the company said in a regulatory filing https://bit.ly/2tA1ru0.

Harley-Davidson said tariffs would reduce customer access to its motorcycles and hurt the dealers' businesses.

Last week, the European Commission said it would start charging import duties of 25 percent on a range of U.S. products after Washington imposed tariffs on EU steel and aluminum at the start of June.

The company sees an annual impact due to the tariffs of about $90 million to $100 million and expects an incremental cost of about $2,200 per average motorcycle exported from the United States to the EU.

The company expects the incremental cost for the rest of 2018 to be $30 million to $45 million.

Harley said it plans to shift production of motorcycles for EU destinations from the United States to its international facilities to avoid the tariff burden.

(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

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