• President Donald Trump attacked Harley-Davidson over its decision to shift some of its motorcycle production out of the US.
• But many of Trump's policies helped contribute to Harley-Davidson's decision.
• Everything from steel tariffs to the decision to pull the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership helped contribute to Harley's move.

---

President Donald Trump is targeting Harley-Davidson for its decision to move some of its manufacturing out of the US, but the president may be to blame for pushing the iconic motorcycle company away.

Harley-Davidson announced Monday that it would move some production of its motorcycles out of the US to overseas facilities, calling it a result of Trump's recent trade fights with the European Union. The firm said the increased costs to ship US-made motorcycles to the EU - roughly $2,200 per unit - made it necessary to shift production.

Trump slammed Harley's decision on Twitter and said during a meeting with Republican lawmakers that the company was just using tariffs as an excuse, since the company previously announced the opening of a plant in Thailand.

But Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, pointed out that Trump hit Harley-Davidson with a "triple whammy" of policy changes that helped to push the company towards its decision.

Those three factors were:

There are certainly other reasons that Harley-Davidson is starting to move more and more of its production away from the US - cheaper labor costs and the ease of transportation to international markets, for instance. But the company's move has been aided by Trump's policies.