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Harley-Davidson: Can the quintessential American brand ride out Trump's tweet storms?

Go hunting for the Harley-Davidson origin story, you'll end up in the black smoke and workshop tinkering of the early 1900s. But the true jumpoff point for understanding the modern American motorcycle manufacturer is May 6, 1987 - the day the Gipper blessed the brand.

Wearing a light-colored suit as he bounced up a platform at the company's plant in York, Pennsylvania, President Ronald Reagan stood before a factory floor jammed with assembly-line workers, the Los Angeles Times reported at the time. He was there to deliver a limited-government victory speech.

Five years earlier, Harley-Davidson was in a corporate tailspin due to intense competition from Japanese manufacturers dominating the U.S. market. In 1983, the Reagan administration imposed five years of limited tariffs on Japanese bikes. The assist helped Harley-Davidson's management retool the company. Now in 1987, they were ready to again take on the Japanese competition alone. The company was the only American motorcycle brand left standing.

"American workers don't need to hide from anyone," Reagan told the crowd, the Times reported. But the president, a free trade hawk, walked an interesting line in his speech. While praising the "breathing room" the tariffs allowed the company to get back on its feet, he argued against further protections.

"Our trade laws should work to foster growth and trade, not shut it off," Reagan said. "And that is what is at the heart of our fair trade policy: opening foreign markets, not closing ours. The idea of going to mandatory retaliation and shutting down on presidential discretion in enforcing our trade laws is moving toward a policy that invites, even encourages, trade wars."

The workers - many still fearing what international competition would do to their jobs later - were silent, according to the Times.

Now the famous American brand is again the target of presidential focus - this time with a much different intensity. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump blasted the company following Harley-Davidson's decision to shift some production overseas due to the administration's aggressive trade policy. As The Washington Post has reported, Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs will cost Harley-Davidson $20 million, the company says. Retaliatory tariffs could cost an additional $45 million.

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