Polaris To Shift Production Overseas To Offset EU Tariffs

Polaris Industries announced that the company is considering moving its production of some motorcycles out of the U.S. because of European tariffs; just days after Harley-Davidson announced a similar move. A spokeswoman for Polaris Industries acknowledged that the company could move some production of its Indian Motorcycles from northwest Iowa to Poland. On June 25, Harley-Davidson announced that it was moving production of its motorcycles sold in Europe from U.S. factories to facilities overseas because of retaliatory tariffs.

Also Read: Harley-Davidson To Shift Production Overseas To Offset EU Tariffs

"Nothing is definitive," Polaris spokeswoman Jess Rogers said. "We're looking at a range of mitigation plans."

Recently, US President Donald Trump used Harley-Davidson as an example of a U.S. business harmed by trade barriers in other countries before imposing steep tariffs on European steel and aluminum. The EU responded with measures that hit around $3.25 billion worth of American-made products, including on American-made motorcycles. The American motorcycle-maker said the new tariffs would add about $2,200 per average motorcycle exported from the U.S. to the EU.

Also Read: Trump Threatens Tax On Harley-Davidson Bikes Imported To The US

In its first-quarter earnings released in April, Polaris projected around $15 million in additional costs in 2018 and according to the company, the latest tariffs would raise costs further, declining to estimate by how much.