Eugene weekly., October 25, 2018, Page 9, Image 9

NEWS
BY W I L L K E N N E D Y
CYCLES
AND CENTS
Taxes and tariffs burden local cyclists
C
yclists in the Eugene area could soon feel the ef-
fects of trade tariffs imposed by the Trump ad-
ministration on most bike products. This comes
on top of a new Oregon excise tax on some bi-
cycle sales.
In 2017, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill
2017. Included in the bill is a $15 bicycle excise tax to be
collected starting January 2018.
The bill was signed into law by Gov. Kate Brown. The
tax applies to all new bicycle sales with a retail purchase
price of $200 or more, propelled exclusively by human
power and with wheels 26 inches or larger.
To counter the tax, Paul’s Bicycle Way of Life is of-
fering a $15 coupon on all applicable bikes. “Most people
don’t feel bad about contributing to a bike path,” says Matt
Ritzow, Paul’s general manager and part owner.
The tax is intended to maintain bicycle infrastructure,
Ritzow explains. But the problem, as he sees it, is that the
tax pushes an unfair portion of overall infrastructure up-
keep onto cyclists.
Local retailers like Paul’s see the adverse effects of the
tax as opposed to big-box retailers, Ritzow says.
In addition, Ritzow says he feels infrastructure funds
would be better raised with higher car registration fees
and gas taxes. When it comes to the new excise tax, Sa-
lem went after low-hanging fruit, he says, targeting a group
lacking the resources to put up a fight.
“It’s not cyclists riding across I-5 bridges that are creat-
ing damages,” Ritzow continues.
“We have many people that use their bikes to reduce
emissions and be healthier,” he adds. “They should be get-
ting a tax credit.”
Cyclists in the Eugene area could also soon feel the
effects of increased trade tariffs imposed by the Trump
administration on most bike products. In response to the
federal tariffs as well as the Oregon tax, prices on cycling
products and components are expected to rise.
This comes as the popularity of electric bikes and
scooters, as well as bike and e-scooter sharing programs,
increases in cities across the nation. Just last spring, Eu-
gene saw the debut of PeaceHealth Rides, a bike-sharing
service, and Portland has both bike and e-scooter sharing
programs.
A representative of Bird, the administrator of Portland’s
e-scooter sharing service, says there are no plans to expand
to Eugene at this time, “but we believe Eugene would be a
great place to provide our accessible, affordable, environ-
mentally friendly transportation option. We hope to col-
laborate with the city officials to bring Bird’s service to
Eugene in the future.”
Ritzow says imports of electric scooters and bikes are
some of the few growth areas in the industry. Many are
turning to e-bikes and e-scooters as reliable commuter ve-
hicles, and the price has been coming down.
“The cost coming down on those bikes really is good,”
Ritzow comments. But the vast majority are built in China,
he adds.
In addition to e-bikes and scooters, Trump’s tariffs will
affect sales of all entry-level bikes. “One-hundred percent
of kid’s bikes,” Ritzow says.
To get around the tariffs, Chinese companies will likely
shift production to places like Vietnam or Cambodia. Tar-
iffs on Chinese bike products will not bring production
back to the U.S., Ritzow says.
“In this case there is no bicycle factory in the U.S. ca-
pable of taking up this black hole that’s being created,” he
continues. “It will not bring production of $500 bikes back
to the US. It will not be possible given our resources.”
He calls Trump’s tariffs “capricious and not-thought-
out policy,” adding, “There’s going to be lost jobs in the
U.S.” ■
NATIVISM AND
WHITE SUPREMACY
OREGON, THE U.S., AND EUROPE
FEATURING
JESS CAMPBELL, Rural Organizing Project
TERRI GIVENS, author and professor
ZAKIR KHAN, CAIR-Oregon
LAURA PULIDO, UO Ethnic Studies
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2018 6:30 PM
175 KNIGHT LAW CENTER, 1515 AGATE ST
WAYNEMORSECENTER.UOREGON.EDU
eugeneweekly.com • October 25, 2018
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