Rep. Emanuel Cleaver: Harley's Tariff Pain a Bad Sign for U.S. Economy
*By Christian Smith*
Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver says that Harley-Davidson's decision to move some of its motorcycle production abroad is just the first sign of a slowdown in the American economy and that President Trump's tariffs are to blame.
"The markets gave (President Trump) some indication that the direction he is going with these tariffs is going to be an impediment for the continued growth for the U.S. economy," Rep. Cleaver, who represents Missouri's Fifth District, said in an interview on Cheddar Tuesday.
"I think we're going to end up seeing that (with) the combination of this trillion-dollar tax cut and the tariffs, the United States economy, which has been humming on all cylinders for the last seven years frankly, is going to cool down."
The Milwaukee-based motorcycle manufacturer announced Monday that it would [move manufacturing](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/25/business/harley-davidson-us-eu-tariffs.html) for some of its motorcycles destined for sale abroad to its existing international facilities. The company cited recent tariffs implemented by the European Union in retaliation to tariffs imposed by President Trump on the EU.
Harley-Davidson said that the tariffs would increase the cost of its motorcycles by about $2,200 each if manufactured in and shipped from the U.S. The EU accounted for about 16.4 percent of the company's global sales in 2017.
The iconic American motorcycle company had already announced plans to [close is Kansas City plant](https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2018/01/30/harley-davidson-kansas-city-plant-motorcycle-sales-fall/1078008001/) in January due to four straight years of slowing sales. It initially planned to move production to its York, Penn., plant. The company still plans to move forward with the consolidation in addition to shifting some production to international facilities.
Altogether, 800 jobs will be eliminated with the Kansas City plant closes, in 2019.
President Trump fired back at the company with a barrage of tweets on Tuesday, threatening to tax Harley-Davidson "like never before" if the company followed through with its plan to move some operations abroad. The president added that any shift in production would be "the beginning of the end."
Harley-Davidson's decision to close its Kansas City plant hits especially close to home for Rep. Cleaver who was mayor of Kansas City in the early 1990s when the city beat out 100 other competitors to win the plant. City's leaders won out by offering Harley-Davidson a combination of incentives including tax breaks and a $3 million piece of equipment the plant required to comply with Missouri state air quality regulations.
"We're going to end up with a vacant building that the taxpayers of Kansas City put money into," Cleaver said. "It could conceivably be years before we are able to attract another business or another company to take that facility."
Cleaver added that the president needs to be more aware of the reality that companies will do whatever they need to do to improve their bottom lines ー in this case shipping hundreds of jobs overseas.
"It is a complicated issue, and it's not something you can do with a tweet," Cleaver said.
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/trump-takes-aim-at-harley-davidson)
Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama are set to begin voting to unionize for a second time after workers at the facility in the town of Bessemer overwhelmingly voted against forming a union during an election early last year; but in November, the National Labor Relations Board overturned the vote, upholding a union challenge of the results which argued that Amazon undermined the conditions for a fair election. Another round of ballots will now be mailed out to works at the warehouse for a so-called re-run election. Director of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University John Logan and National Field Director for Our Revolution Mike Oles joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
David Daley, author of the book 'Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy,' joins Cheddar News to discuss redistricting battles taking place across the U.S.
Andrew Cuomo is reportedly planning his comeback. According to the Wall Street Journal, the former New York governor and his aides are considering how to make his first public appearance since he abruptly resigned last August amid sexual harassment allegations. Jake Lahut, politics reporter for Insider, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss Cuomo's potential return to politics.
The pressure is on for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson - after his closest aides handed in their resignations this week.
It comes after a report found that 16 parties had taken place at Downing Street while Covid lockdown protocols were in place in the region. Ari Aramesh, Attorney & National Security/Foreign Policy Analyst joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
President Biden has ordered about 3,000 U.S. troops to Eastern Europe as Russia refuses to back off its pressure on Ukraine. The deployments to Poland, Germany, and Romania are a show of support to NATO allies concerned about a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is in addition to the 8,500 troops put on high alert. David Tafuri, former Obama campaign foreign policy advisor and former State Department official, joined Cheddar to discuss what this move means for U.S.-Russia relations.
After tennis player Peng Shuai made an explicit sexual assault allegation toward a former Chinese government official, she disappeared from the public eye. Her recent reappearance with the IOC alongside a Chinese Olympic committee official raised eyebrows and renewed concerns for her safety. Asian affairs expert Gordon Chang, author of "The Coming Collapse of China," joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss Peng Shuai's retraction and the various human rights controversies swirling at the Beijing games. "It's clear that the IOC was working with Beijing to make sure that she did not express herself freely," Chang said. "So really this is the IOC being complicit in these mechanisms of control over Peng."
The opening ceremony of the 2022 winter Olympics has kicked off at the Beijing national stadium. 150,000 spectators are in attendance for the games inside the 'closed loop' system separating Olympic personnel from the public. Cheddar News spoke with Brian Cazenueve, Sports Illustrated contributor, to share the highlights you may have missed and much more.
The Biden Administration is set to revise federal rules to address potential security risks from foreign-owned apps, mainly Tiktok. This comes after the White House opted not to pursue a forced shutdown of the Chinese-owned video sharing platform. Under these new rules, federal oversight would be expanded to explicitly include apps that could be used by foreign adversaries to steal or otherwise obtain data. Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Craig Singleton, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
