Berlin agency trys to woo Harley Davidson
July 13, 2018
A German business agency has called on Harley-Davidson to start up operations in Berlin after the iconic US motorbike maker said it would move some of its production abroad in response to a trade dispute between the United States and the European Union.
The head of the Berlin Partner agency, Stefan Franzke, told German daily Tagesspiegel that he made the suggestion in a letter to Harley-Davison's Chief Executive Matthew Levatich.
Frankze advertised Berlin's "dynamism" in the "heart of Europe" and told Levatich that the city already hosted a BMW motorbike factory.
Read more: Harley-Davidson: The iconic symbol of the American dream
'You are looking for freedom?'
"But most of all, Berlin is the city of freedom," Franzke wrote in the letter he wrote on US Independence Day headed: "You are looking for freedom? Freedom Machine Berlin is our answer."
Harley-Davison announced in late June that it was planning to move some of its motorbike production abroad to circumvent EU tariffs on US motorbikes. The bloc enacted the duties in retaliation to US President Donald Trump's decision to slap tariffs on EU steel and aluminum.
Trump: 'Beginning of the end'
Trump slammed the company in response, writing on Twitter that it risked "the beginning of the end" if it went ahead with the plans.
A Berlin Partner spokesman told DPA news agency that Harley-Davison had not yet replied to Franzke's letter.
Franzke said he had not advertised Berlin to other US companies targeted by EU retaliatory tariffs, but would do so if they voiced interest in moving their production abroad.
amp/jm (AFP, dpa)