‘India is very big with tariffs’: Donald Trump rakes up issue of taxes imposed on Harley-Davidson bikes  

Former US President Donald Trump, who is seeking another term, has raised the issue of high taxes levied by India on select American products including Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Trump has also threatened to slap reciprocal tax on India if he is voted back into office in the 2024 US Presidential Elections. He said in an interview with Fox Business News’ Larry Kudlow that during his tenure as President, he came down heavily on India’s tax rates, which he alleged were quite high.

“The other thing I want to have is a matching tax where, if India charges us -- India is very big with tariffs. I mean, I saw it with Harley-Davidson. I was saying, how do you do in a place like India? Oh, no good sir. Why? They have 100 per cent and 150 per cent and 200 per cent tariffs,” Trump stated.

During the course of this interview, he also recounted an exchange with Harley-Davidson’s representatives. Trump told Fox Business News that he asked Harley-Davidson representatives as to why the company does not do business in India. The Trump Organisation owner added that India wants American companies to go over and build a plant to avoid high tariffs.

“Another point I’d like to emphasise is the concept of a reciprocal tax. India has been imposing substantial tariffs, especially evident in the case of Harley-Davidson. I questioned how Harley-Davidson fares in a market like India. The response was negative due to exorbitant tariffs- 100 per cent, 150 per cent, even 200 per cent,” Trump elaborated further.

This, however, is not the first time that Trump has raked up the issue of high tariffs levied by India on Harley-Davidson bikes. In 2020, Trump attacked India on the high tariffs on imported motorcycles, especially Harley-Davidson. The former President had said that India probably has the highest tariffs in the world and that Harley-Davidson has to pay “tremendous” tariffs in India.

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"India is probably the nation with the highest tariffs in the world. We have to stop that. I think we are understanding each other. Harley Davidson has to pay tremendous tariffs in India. When India sends its motorcycles to the US there are absolutely no tariffs. For the most part, there are absolutely no tariffs. I just said that is unfair and we are working it out," Trump had said then. 

At the time, India charged a customs duty of 50 per cent on two wheelers imported in completely built form. On top of this, the country charged a 28 per cent GST on the sale of the bike and an additional cess of 3 per cent, which took the total tariff on imported bikes to 81 per cent. This, however, was not the only time that Trump raised the issue of high tariffs and the problems faced by Harley Davidson.

He made the very first reference to the issue in his address to the US Congress in March 2017. A year later in June 2018, Trump took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi after India reduced customs duty on imported motorcycles from high-end brands having less than 800cc engine capacity from 60 per cent to 50 per cent and 75 per cent for other.

"When Harley-Davidson sends a motorcycle to India, as an example, they have to pay 100 percent tax," Trump then said. "Now, the Prime Minister, who I think is a fantastic man, called me the other day and he said we are lowering it to 50 percent. I said okay, but so far we're getting nothing. So, we get nothing, he gets 50 [percent], and they think like they're doing us a favour. That's not a favour. You know what our tax is? Nothing. So, I say we should have reciprocal taxes for a case like that," he added.

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