US, EU Trade Row Affecting Motorcycles May Be Resolved

The United States and the European Union agreed to put aside a 17-year dispute, which will result in suspending the threat of tit-for-tat trade tariffs on each other's economies for five years. The tariff battle, which began in 2004, has affected everything from wine and food products to motorcycles. The agreement is a clear sign of US President Joe Biden's seriousness in repairing relations with the European Union, and is seen to be warming up to Europe as an ally, and not an economic adversary, as former President Donald Trump did.

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The Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 is the brand's first adventure touring motorcycle, and Europe is an important market for the brand, as well as the model's global success

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A US representative has claimed that the tit-for-tat trade war is coming to an end, as both sides look set to come to an agreement. According to US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, as long as the terms agreed were abided by, the tariffs would remain suspended.

"The announcement resolves a long-standing trade irritant in the US-EU relationship. We have also with the EU agreed to clear statements on acceptable support for large civil aircraft producers and a cooperative process to address that support between our two parties," said Tai.

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The Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 will take on established European rivals from BMW Motorrad, KTM and Triumph

The agreement will result in significant punitive tariffs, estimated at $11.5 billion, on a wide variety of products will continue to be suspended after both sides had agreed to do so in March while they tried to settle the dispute. For motorcycles, one major issue of contention is the Trump-era tariffs on steel and aluminium. In 2018, Trump used special "national security" provisions to impose the tariffs, which set off a larger trade war. The EU's retaliatory tariffs targeted approximately $3.4 billion of American imports, including Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Levi Strauss jeans and bourbon whiskey.

Last month, the European Commission, which oversees EU trade policy, suspended for up to six months a threated June 1 doubling of retaliatory tariffs on Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and other products, and refrained from slapping tariffs on more products.