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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JUNE 25, 2018
Harley, stung by tariffs, shifts some production overseas
Associated Press
MILWAUKEE — Har-
ley-Davidson, up against spi-
raling costs from tariffs, will
begin to shift the production
of motorcycles headed for
Europe from the U.S. to facto-
ries overseas.
The European Union on
Friday began rolling out tariffs
on American imports like bour-
bon, peanut butter and orange
juice. The EU tariffs on $3.4
billion worth of U.S. prod-
ucts are retaliation for duties
the Trump administration is
imposing on European steel
and aluminum.
President Donald Trump
has used Harley-Davidson as
an example of a U.S. business
that is being harmed by trade
barriers. Yet Harley has warned
consistently against tariffs,
saying they would negatively
impact sales.
Harley-Davidson Inc. sold
almost 40,000 motorcycles
in the European Union last
year, generating revenue sec-
ond only to the United States,
according to the Milwaukee
company.
The maker of the iconic
American motorcycle said in a
regulatory filing Monday that
EU tariffs on its motorcycles
exported from the U.S. jumped
between 6 percent and 31 per-
cent, which translates into an
additional, incremental cost
of about $2,200 per average
AP Photo/Keith Srakocic
In this April 26, 2017, file photo, rows of motorcycles are behind a bronze plate with corpo-
rate information on the showroom floor at a Harley-Davidson dealership in Glenshaw, Pa.
motorcycle exported from the
U.S. to the EU.
“Harley-Davidson main-
tains a strong commitment
to U.S.-based manufactur-
ing which is valued by riders
globally,” the company said
in prepared remarks. “Increas-
ing international production
to alleviate the EU tariff bur-
den is not the company’s pref-
erence, but represents the only
sustainable option to make its
motorcycles accessible to cus-
tomers in the EU and maintain
a viable business in Europe.
Europe is a critical market for
Harley-Davidson.”
Harley-Davidson will not
raise its prices to avert “an
immediate and lasting det-
rimental impact” on sales in
Europe, it said. It will instead
absorb a significant amount
of the cost in the near term. It
anticipates the cost for the rest
of the year to be approximately
$30 million to $45 million.
Harley-Davidson said that
shifting targeted production
from the U.S. to international
facilities could take at least nine
to 18 months to be completed.
The company is already
struggling with falling sales. In
January, it said it would consol-
idate its Kansas City, Missouri,
plant into its York, Pennsylva-
nia, facility. U.S. motorcycle
sales peaked at more than 1.1
million in 2005 but then plum-
meted during the recession.
Asked about the Harley
decision Monday, Wisconsin
Gov. Scott Walker addressed
the issue of tariffs in general
but not specifically the situa-
tion faced by the company.
“The ultimate goal, if we
could get there, is no tariffs or
if anything few tariffs on any-
thing,” said Walker, a Republi-
can. “That’s what I’m going to
push for, ways that we can get
to a level playing field then we
don’t have this tit for tat on any
number of products out there.”
Increasing foreign invest-
ment in the United States,
something Walker was in
Washington advocating for at a
U.S. Department of Commerce
event last week, will also help
reduce the trade imbalance and
need for tariffs, he said.
More potential pitfalls for
Harley-Davidson and other
U.S. manufacturers could be
on the way.
Last week German auto-
maker Daimler AG cut its 2018
earnings outlook, a change that
it says is partly due to increased
import tariffs for U.S. vehicles
in China. Daimler produces
vehicles in the U.S.
On Monday, the vice pres-
ident of the European Union’s
governing body said that
Europe and China will form a
group aimed at updating global
trade rules to address tech-
nology policy, government
subsidies and other emerg-
ing complaints in a bid to pre-
serve support for international
commerce.
European Commission Vice
President Jyrki Katainen said
unilateral action by U.S. Presi-
dent Donald Trump in disputes
over steel, China’s technology
policy and other issues high-
lighted the need to modernize
the World Trade Organization
to reflect developments in the
world economy.
The Wall Street Journal
reported that the Trump admin-
istration plans to impose curbs
on Chinese investment in
American technology compa-
nies and high-tech exports to
China.
Ferry: ‘This gives
great exposure’
Continued from Page 1A
Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune
A potentially toxic blue-green algae bloom in Provo Bay in Provo, Utah.
Algae: ‘I don’t think any state is isolated’
Continued from Page 1A
And more intense rain-
storms, also conclusively
linked to climate change, can
wash more nutrients into lakes
and reservoirs, especially from
farms where nitrogen and
phosphorous-rich fertilizers
are used, Chapra said.
In Utah, a 2016 algae bloom
in a recreational-use lake sick-
ened more than 100. When the
story made national headlines,
other states reached out.
“We started getting calls
from other health departments
all over the country saying,
‘Hey, we’re dealing with an
algal bloom in a lake that has
never ever had one before,’”
said Aislynn Tolman-Hill,
Utah County Health Depart-
ment spokeswoman.
Officials only recently
started carefully logging the
blooms, but they seem to
be becoming more intense,
‘It’s going to get worse,
and it’s going to get
worse in a big way.’
Steven Chapra
an environmental engineering professor at Tufts University
said Ben Holcomb, a biolo-
gist for Utah’s environmen-
tal agency. “They’re starting
earlier, they’re lasting lon-
ger, and their peaks seem to
be getting bigger,” Holcomb
said. “I don’t think any state is
isolated.”
In Lake Erie, a major
bloom in 2014 caused author-
ities to warn against drinking
tap water in Toledo, Ohio, for
more than two days, cutting
off the main water source for
more than 400,000 people.
Now blooms happen every
year in Utah and Ohio. Offi-
cials in both states say they’ve
largely been able to stop them
from toxifying drinking water.
But the blooms can still sicken
people and pets that go in the
water, and often hit recreation
businesses that depend on lake
access.
Other blooms, includ-
ing flare-ups affecting drink-
ing water, have been logged
in recent years in New York,
Florida and California.
In Oregon, officials lifted
Salem’s drinking water advi-
sory after several days, but
then had to reissue the warn-
ing. The water supply serves
a population of just over
150,000 in the city, along with
residents outside city limits.
Officials also warned that
dozens of other water sup-
plies could be vulnerable, and
indeed, when workers from
the city of Cottage Grove
inspected another reservoir,
they found a bloom, according
to a report by Oregon Public
Broadcasting.
Testing for the blooms isn’t
required by either federal or
state law, officials noted.
Researchers say that needs
to change because blooms are
likely to become more com-
mon, including in states where
low temperatures previously
provided a buffer against them.
“These things like you’re
seeing in Lake Erie and in Ore-
gon are kind of like the canary
in the coal mine,” said Chapra,
the Tufts researcher.
“It’s going to get worse,
and it’s going to get worse in
a big way.”
Argosy Cruises of Seat-
tle later bought the ferry and
operated it as the M.V. Kirk-
land in Puget Sound until
2010. After a fire below
deck, the company deter-
mined the Kirkland would
be too expensive to fix and
decommissioned it.
Lint, a captain with an
interest in salvaging old
boats, purchased the Kirk-
land and began restoring
it before putting the ferry
up for sale in 2015. Robert
Jacob, owner of the Cannery
Pier Hotel, learned about the
vessel and convinced Lint
to bring it down the Pacific
Coast to Astoria in 2016.
Boarding the ferry at
North Tongue Point required
descending a rickety ladder
from an elevated pier. At Pier
39, the boat has a ramp and
landing, with plans to add
disabled access.
“I think it fits fantas-
tic,” said Floyd Holcom, the
owner of Pier 39. “We’ve
had historical ships in that
location before. This gives
great exposure to the ferry,
and I think they need all the
exposure they can get.”
While Shogren seeks out
grants and other sponsor-
ships, members of the Asto-
ria Ferry Group have been
organizing events to raise the
vessel’s public profile, such
as participation in the Asto-
ria Regatta this summer and
a class reunion in the fall.
The group is offering tours
to people interested in the
boat’s restoration and will
eventually organize docents
to facilitate more regular
public access starting in the
spring, Price said.
“We know that to make
this project really sustain-
able, is it needs to get run-
ning on the river,” she said.
“It needs to become part of
Astoria’s transportation sys-
tem, figure out how to work it
in with the trolley and every-
thing else that goes on, and
have regularly scheduled ser-
vice. Sort of informally, we
have a six-year plan to have
all that done by its 100th
anniversary in 2024.”
Lint, who is also waiting
for the group to gather the
money to buy the Tourist No.
2, said he has fielded offers in
Washington state from peo-
ple wanting to turn the ferry
into everything from a mar-
ijuana smoking lounge to a
strip club.
“But I want it to be here,”
he said. “As long as there is
community interest, I’ll go
along with this.”
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Christian Lint, the owner of the Tourist No. 2, contin-
ues volunteering his time as the Astoria Ferry Group
tries to organize and raise money for the vessel’s res-
toration to Coast Guard standards.
Suarez: Has already noticed the difference being bilingual can make on the beach
Continued from Page 1A
As a student at Miami Dade
College, Suarez originally
went into hospitality and tour-
ism management. “Because
that’s the way you get to work
on the beach in Florida,” she
said.
But Suarez’s interest in
marine life and science refused
to wane. Her major gradually
drifted away from hospitality
and more into marine science,
until she eventually ended up
with a general associate degree
with a focus in science.
“It’s a passion I’ve always
come back to,” Suarez said.
Suarez moved to the North
Coast about three years ago
with her partner at the time,
who was stationed in Astoria
with the Coast Guard. They
eventually split, but Suarez
had already fallen in love with
the beauty of the area.
She found an opportunity
to volunteer with the aware-
ness program, and eventually
was promoted to be a paid,
lead interpreter. A few months
ago, Pooka Rice, the program’s
outreach coordinator, talked to
her about using her dual lan-
guage skills to translate signs
and educational materials into
Spanish.
Overall, the goal is to make
the program more inclusive
to the Latino community by
developing more programs
and classes in Spanish over
time, Suarez said.
But Suarez has already
noticed the difference being
bilingual can make on the
beach.
“I remember one day
there was a man just walking
all over the marine garden. I
approached him in Spanish to
explain to him why that wasn’t
allowed, and all of sudden he
leaves and comes back with
like seven other relatives,”
Suarez said. “They were ask-
ing questions about the envi-
ronment they otherwise proba-
bly wouldn’t have asked.”
When Suarez isn’t work-
ing, she likes to spend time —
you guessed it — on the beach.
“It really is my life,” she
laughed.
Other than the occasional
craving for sun and decent
Cuban cuisine, Suarez said she
has found a home in the Pacific
Northwest, with dreams to pur-
sue marine science at the Uni-
versity of Washington.
For now, she’s excited to
see what her background and
passion for environmental sci-
ence can do to help keep Hay-
stack Rock healthy.
“It’s all about awareness.
Knowledge is power. There’s
been a small disconnect with
that,” Suarez said, in reference
to a lack of Spanish materials.
“But I’m happy to do my part
to fill this little gap.”