Latest news with #Harley-Davidson
Hindustan Times
20 hours ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
How Trump Got the Upper Hand Over the EU on Tariffs
Soon after he sat down to negotiate Sunday with European officials on a potential tariff agreement at his Scotland golf club, President Trump said he wanted assurances that Europe would follow through on its pledges to increase investment in the U.S. Trump questioned how the U.S. could be sure European companies wouldn't shrug off their plans, which came with a 15% levy on EU imports into the U.S. rather than the 30% Trump had threatened, according to people familiar with the matter. After EU leaders assured him that the investment plans they were talking about were real, Trump responded: 'prove it,' according to one of the people. EU officials rattled off the names of European companies they said were already prepared to invest. With a trade deal in place, planned investments of almost $200 billion would grow by even more, they told Trump. At the end of the talks, Trump said the EU would now be investing $600 billion in the U.S. as part of the deal, which also included a plan to buy $750 billion of American energy products from the U.S. over three years. European officials said the $600 billion figure is based on private companies' investment plans. The agreement, widely seen as a victory for Trump, marked the culmination of monthslong talks between America and its largest trading partner and offered the biggest signal yet that nations see America's tariff regime as more permanent than temporary. The pact followed a shift in thinking by the Europeans: EU officials in recent talks sought to contain the damage the duties will inflict on the bloc's companies and economy, rather than try to negotiate the tariffs away outright. Tariffs of 15% are 'certainly a challenge for some,' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. 'But we should not forget it keeps [the EU's] access to the American market.' Just before Trump and von der Leyen met Sunday to iron out the agreement, Trump aides called European officials to solidify that part of the talks would focus on the EU giving U.S. companies better access to the bloc's markets, according to a person familiar with the matter. The EU's decision to accept Trump's 15% level for tariffs marked a contrast to its initial, more adversarial approach. After Trump imposed in March 25% levies for steel and aluminum, the bloc started preparing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports, including American products such as peanut butter and Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Some of the products were chosen to try to maximize political pain for Trump, an EU official said when the bloc's list was announced that month. After the U.K. in May got a deal that pegged tariffs to 10%, Trump's global baseline for duties, some European officials were dismissive. 'If the U.K.-U.S. deal is what Europe gets, then the U.S. can expect countermeasures from our side,' Benjamin Dousa, Sweden's minister for international development cooperation and foreign trade, said at the time. But European officials eventually came to view 10% as a minimum level. They noticed Trump administration officials talking about the revenue the tariffs were pulling in. 'It was more and more clear that President Trump is dead serious about significantly transforming the landscape of global trade,' EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič told The Wall Street Journal on Monday, adding, 'the status quo of going back to last year, or before April 2, simply is not possible.' As the EU tried to adapt, it relied heavily on Šefčovič to lead political discussions with U.S. officials. Since February, he has traveled to Washington seven times to meet with U.S. trade officials and had more than 100 hours of contact with them over recent months, including frequent phone and video calls. On one occasion about a week before Trump and von der Leyen's meeting in Scotland, Šefčovič said he spent half of a roughly 700-mile road trip to his home country of Slovakia talking with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, with his two golden retrievers panting in the back seat. At one point, 'I said Howard, it's not me,' Šefčovič said of the dogs' heavy breathing. When he needed to find documents to help with the discussion, Šefčovič looked for parking lots with a Wi-Fi signal, during what turned out to be a crucial late-stage discussion ahead of the leaders' sit-down in Scotland. A major inflection point in the talks came in May, when Trump threatened on social media to apply a 50% tariff on the bloc. 'Our discussions with them are going nowhere,' Trump said at the time. After a phone call with von der Leyen two days later, he said he would hold off on that threat. The bloc shifted its approach. It presented U.S. trade officials with a proposal that included plans to increase purchases of American energy products and an offer to lower tariffs for certain U.S. imports, people familiar with the matter said. Greer said in early June that the EU had provided 'a credible starting point' for talks between the two economies. Then on July 12 Trump published a letter on social media saying he would put 30% tariffs on the bloc in early August. The development was unexpected for European officials who had hoped they were close to a deal. Days after the letter was posted, Šefčovič told Fox News, in comments that foreshadowed the eventual deal, that the EU was prepared to significantly increase purchases of U.S. energy products including oil, liquefied natural gas and nuclear fuel, and to spend about $40 billion on artificial intelligence chips. He also said the EU was looking at about $500 billion in EU companies investments in the U.S. over a three-year period. Ahead of the Scotland meeting, Šefčovič sought advice from Japan's chief negotiator to get a better sense of what to expect, people familiar with the matter said. He learned that Japan's final-stage talks with Trump went beyond surface level discussions and delved into the details of the agreement. The Europeans hunkered down in a hotel in Glasgow on Sunday to discuss what kind of messaging would be most effective during the meeting with Trump, a person familiar with their preparations said. They showed up ready to talk specifics: including examples of companies' planned U.S. investments. Write to Kim Mackrael at and Brian Schwartz at
Time of India
a day ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Harley-Davidson in talks to sell stake in financing unit: Report
Harley-Davidson is in talks with Pacific Investment Management Co and KKR & Co. to sell a stake in its financing unit and existing motorcycle loan portfolio in a deal worth $5 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Monday. Shares of the company were up 1.9% in extended trade. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Public Policy MCA Data Science Management Design Thinking Project Management Data Science Digital Marketing Operations Management Data Analytics Finance Technology Cybersecurity Leadership Healthcare Others Degree healthcare Artificial Intelligence CXO MBA Product Management Skills you'll gain: Economics for Public Policy Making Quantitative Techniques Public & Project Finance Law, Health & Urban Development Policy Economics for Public Policy Making Quantitative Techniques Public & Project Finance Law, Health & Urban Development Policy Duration: 12 Months IIM Kozhikode Professional Certificate Programme in Public Policy Management Starts on Mar 3, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Economics for Public Policy Making Quantitative Techniques Public & Project Finance Law, Health & Urban Development Policy Duration: 12 Months IIM Kozhikode Professional Certificate Programme in Public Policy Management Starts on Mar 3, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 12 Months IIM Calcutta Executive Programme in Public Policy and Management Starts on undefined Get Details Conversations are ongoing, and a deal may be announced within weeks, while details and size of it may change, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. KKR and PIMCO declined to comment, while Harley-Davidson did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Harley-Davidson Financial Services , which helps dealers finance their investory and provides retail loans, primarily for the purchase of HarleyDavidson and LiveWire motorcycles, accounted for 20% of the company's revenue in 2024. Live Events Harley-Davidson's finance unit was put up for sale earlier this year, according to the report, as the motorcycle maker grappled with weak sales. The company, which warned of a hit to its full-year results from tariffs and suspended its 2025 forecasts, is set to report its second quarter results on July 30.
Mint
a day ago
- Business
- Mint
How Trump got the upper hand over the EU on tariffs
Soon after he sat down to negotiate Sunday with European officials on a potential tariff agreement at his Scotland golf club, President Trump said he wanted assurances that Europe would follow through on its pledges to increase investment in the U.S. Trump questioned how the U.S. could be sure European companies wouldn't shrug off their plans, which came with a 15% levy on EU imports into the U.S. rather than the 30% Trump had threatened, according to people familiar with the matter. After EU leaders assured him that the investment plans they were talking about were real, Trump responded: 'prove it," according to one of the people. EU officials rattled off the names of European companies they said were already prepared to invest. With a trade deal in place, planned investments of almost $200 billion would grow by even more, they told Trump. At the end of the talks, Trump said the EU would now be investing $600 billion in the U.S. as part of the deal, which also included a plan to buy $750 billion of American energy products from the U.S. over three years. European officials said the $600 billion figure is based on private companies' investment plans. The agreement, widely seen as a victory for Trump, marked the culmination of monthslong talks between America and its largest trading partner and offered the biggest signal yet that nations see America's tariff regime as more permanent than temporary. The pact followed a shift in thinking by the Europeans: EU officials in recent talks sought to contain the damage the duties will inflict on the bloc's companies and economy, rather than try to negotiate the tariffs away outright. Tariffs of 15% are 'certainly a challenge for some," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. 'But we should not forget it keeps [the EU's] access to the American market." Just before Trump and von der Leyen met Sunday to iron out the agreement, Trump aides called European officials to solidify that part of the talks would focus on the EU giving U.S. companies better access to the bloc's markets, according to a person familiar with the matter. The EU's decision to accept Trump's 15% level for tariffs marked a contrast to its initial, more adversarial approach. After Trump imposed in March 25% levies for steel and aluminum, the bloc started preparing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports, including American products such as peanut butter and Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Some of the products were chosen to try to maximize political pain for Trump, an EU official said when the bloc's list was announced that month. After the U.K. in May got a deal that pegged tariffs to 10%, Trump's global baseline for duties, some European officials were dismissive. 'If the U.K.-U.S. deal is what Europe gets, then the U.S. can expect countermeasures from our side," Benjamin Dousa, Sweden's minister for international development cooperation and foreign trade, said at the time. But European officials eventually came to view 10% as a minimum level. They noticed Trump administration officials talking about the revenue the tariffs were pulling in. 'It was more and more clear that President Trump is dead serious about significantly transforming the landscape of global trade," EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič told The Wall Street Journal on Monday, adding, 'the status quo of going back to last year, or before April 2, simply is not possible." As the EU tried to adapt, it relied heavily on Šefčovič to lead political discussions with U.S. officials. Since February, he has traveled to Washington seven times to meet with U.S. trade officials and had more than 100 hours of contact with them over recent months, including frequent phone and video calls. On one occasion about a week before Trump and von der Leyen's meeting in Scotland, Šefčovič said he spent half of a roughly 700-mile road trip to his home country of Slovakia talking with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, with his two golden retrievers panting in the back seat. At one point, 'I said Howard, it's not me," Šefčovič said of the dogs' heavy breathing. When he needed to find documents to help with the discussion, Šefčovič looked for parking lots with a Wi-Fi signal, during what turned out to be a crucial late-stage discussion ahead of the leaders' sit-down in Scotland. A major inflection point in the talks came in May, when Trump threatened on social media to apply a 50% tariff on the bloc. 'Our discussions with them are going nowhere," Trump said at the time. After a phone call with von der Leyen two days later, he said he would hold off on that threat. The bloc shifted its approach. It presented U.S. trade officials with a proposal that included plans to increase purchases of American energy products and an offer to lower tariffs for certain U.S. imports, people familiar with the matter said. Greer said in early June that the EU had provided 'a credible starting point" for talks between the two economies. Then on July 12 Trump published a letter on social media saying he would put 30% tariffs on the bloc in early August. The development was unexpected for European officials who had hoped they were close to a deal. Days after the letter was posted, Šefčovič told Fox News, in comments that foreshadowed the eventual deal, that the EU was prepared to significantly increase purchases of U.S. energy products including oil, liquefied natural gas and nuclear fuel, and to spend about $40 billion on artificial intelligence chips. He also said the EU was looking at about $500 billion in EU companies investments in the U.S. over a three-year period. Ahead of the Scotland meeting, Šefčovič sought advice from Japan's chief negotiator to get a better sense of what to expect, people familiar with the matter said. He learned that Japan's final-stage talks with Trump went beyond surface level discussions and delved into the details of the agreement. The Europeans hunkered down in a hotel in Glasgow on Sunday to discuss what kind of messaging would be most effective during the meeting with Trump, a person familiar with their preparations said. They showed up ready to talk specifics: including examples of companies' planned U.S. investments. Write to Kim Mackrael at and Brian Schwartz at
Business Times
a day ago
- Automotive
- Business Times
Harley Davidson nears financing unit deal with Pimco, KKR
[NEW YORK] Harley-Davidson is in advanced talks to sell a stake in its financing unit as well as its existing motorcycle loan portfolio in a deal worth US$5 billion to Pacific Investment Management Company (Pimco) and KKR, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. The firms' private credit arms are in discussions to purchase an interest in the bike maker's Harley-Davidson Financial Services, or HDFS, the sources said. HDFS, which was put up for sale earlier this year, helps the company's dealers finance their inventory and lends to consumers for the purchase of Harley-Davidson and LiveWire motorcycles. The US$5 billion price tag would include the iconic bike maker's existing book of motorcycle loans, the sources said, adding that Pimco and KKR are also seeking to purchase the debt the firm originates in the future. A deal could be announced within weeks, they added. Conversations are ongoing and details and size of the deal may change. Spokespeople for Pimco and KKR declined to comment, while a representative for Harley-Davidson did not respond to requests for comment. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The potential sale comes as Harley-Davidson grapples with lacklustre sales growth and stiff competition from rivals, including Honda Motor and BMW. The motorcycle maker is set to report results on Jul 30. Its shares are down around 22 per cent year-to-date. Harley Davidson's chief executive officer Jochen Zeitz said in May that 'the HDFS transaction is continuing to progress with multiple interested parties'. The company said earlier this year that it has retained an executive search firm to find a replacement for Zeitz, who intends to retire. Private credit firms have been growing their footprint in the US$5.2 trillion asset based market, which encompasses everything from auto loans to residential mortgages and can often receive investment-grade ratings. Some of them have been buying up stakes in the companies that originate those consumer loans while also purchasing the debt they originate. For instance, Carlyle Group has done so in the past by acquiring minority stakes in firms such as Sungage Financial, which provides financing for residential solar cells. Often times, these firms may look to repackage those loans into securities of varying risk and size. Harley-Davidson is no stranger to that asset-backed bond market, having previously repackaged its motorcycle loans into notes, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. BLOOMBERG
Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Florida should listen to Miami archbishop: Detained migrants need spiritual comfort
Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski is raising a powerful moral question: Should the hundreds of people detained inside the Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center — many awaiting deportation — be denied spiritual comfort as they face sudden family separation, isolation and the end of their life in America? His answer, and ours, is clear: No. Whether undocumented or facing criminal charges, these detainees deserve access to prayer, confession and Mass — just like inmates in state and federal prisons across the United States. As Wenski says, it's the humane thing to do. We agree. Yet state officials have ignored the letter from Wenski requesting that priests be allowed inside the detention facility at the edge of the Everglades. So Wenski — the leader of 1.3 million Catholics in South Florida — recently made an unannounced visit to Alligator Alcatraz, riding up in a Harley-Davidson as part of the Knights on Bikes, a religious motorcycle ministry. Clad in denim and a leather vest, he and 25 riders showed up to make the point that religion must be allowed inside the tents of this controversial pop-up facility because it is the right and humane thing to do. These detainees are experiencing one of the darkest times in their lives. There's no denying it. They deserve more than due process. They deserve compassion. Barred from going inside last weekend, Wenski and the other bikers knelt outside the barbed wire as the archbishop led a prayer for the people inside. 'Common decency demands that chaplains and pastoral ministers be able to serve those in custody — for their benefit and for the benefit of the staff,' he told reporters. 'The people detained here are fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters of anxious family members.' He's absolutely right. Backed by decades of advocacy immigrants, Wenski's call to conscience deserves full support — and a swift positive response. Spiritual care isn't a luxury. It's a human need, especially when people are facing exile, fear and profound loss. Yes, supporters of mass deportation may argue that religion has no place at Alligator Alcatraz. That those who end up there deserve no special treatment or comfort because they are undocumented. But to deny access to chaplains is to strip those detained of their dignity — and reduce them to something less than human. Wenski's unexpected appearance at Alligator Alcatraz was more than a photo op. He used his standing as the highest-ranking Catholic in South Florida to defend those inside. For Wenski — long known for his activism during his early years in the Miami clergy — this was a continuation of his long record of championing Haitians, Cubans and all immigrants in Miami-Dade. He also condemned the cruel rhetoric used by some politicians, who have described the detainees as being guarded by 'pythons and alligators.' He called it plain mean. He's right. He's also right to fight for spiritual care inside Alligator Alcatraz. Reports from visitors describe overcrowded, sweltering tents, people held in cages and limited medical access. In this bleak scenario, faith can bring peace of mind and human comfort — and it doesn't interfere with the government's immigration enforcement. We support Wenski's call for humanity and spiritual guidance at Alligator Alcatraz. Wenski is showing moral and spiritual leadership. We should listen.
