Earlier in the week, India had proposed to increase the import duty on American motorcycle models such as Harley-Davidson and Indian. And now, the European Union or the EU too has propsed an increase in the import duty rates on American motorcycle models above 500 cc, by 25 per cent. It could be said that this has been done in retaliation to the taxes levied on steel and aluminium. The increase in import duties will not be levied on electric motorcycle manufacturers such as Zero and a few other companies.
Also Read: India Could Hike Import Duty On American Motorcycles
This move could put a dent on Harley-Davidson especially as the company's sales in its home country have been in steady decline over the last few years. Outside of US, the EU is Harley's second biggest market and an increase of 25 per cent on the import duty on all Harley-Davidson motorcycles will definitely sting the manufacturer a bit. For example, the sale of Harley-Davidson grew by 8.3 per cent in 2016 and has stayed around the same mark for 2017 as well. During the same time, the sales in USA have dropped by a considerable 12 per cent.
Indian Motorcycle too will be affected by the increase in the import duty but maybe not as much as Harley-Davidson. Indian has lesser models than Harley and it is growing at a pace more than the overall growth of the US two-wheeler industry. The increase in import tariffs also includes many other commodities such as denim jeans, peanut butter, cranberries, US cigarettes and even bourbon.
