Harley-Davidson

Quick Take

Harley's politics have mostly been trade politics. It petitioned for a tariff in the 1980s, got caught in a European tariff war in 2018, and booked tariff costs again in 2025 and 2026 [2][5][6][7]. In August 2024, after a weeks-long online campaign by a conservative activist, it dropped several diversity programs and ended its relationship with the Human Rights Campaign [8][9]. Its political action committee is small: it has raised no new money since 2018, gave a few thousand dollars a cycle to both parties, and gave nothing in 2025 [10][11].

Born and Saved by Trade Policy

The tariff story starts the company's modern history. On April 1, 1983, Reagan ordered an extra tariff of 45 percent on imported heavyweight motorcycles, scheduled to shrink each year for five years [12]. In 1987, Harley asked to end it early. Reagan said on the radio that Harley's workers had "asked that their special tariff be removed so that they can meet their competition head on" [1]. His October 9, 1987 proclamation ended the relief "as requested by petitioner Harley-Davidson, Inc." [2]

Reagan visited Harley's plant in York, Pennsylvania, on May 6, 1987. In his diary that night he wrote, "A year early they told us to cancel the protection," and added: "It isn't a factory it's a religion" [3].

In 1981, thirteen senior Harley executives led by Vaughn Beals bought the company back from its corporate owner, AMF Incorporated [13]. It went public in 1986 [6].

A President's Praise, Then a Boycott

On February 2, 2017, President Donald Trump hosted Harley executives and union representatives for lunch at the White House. He called the company "a true American icon" and thanked it "for building things in America" [14]. He also credited Reagan's tariffs with helping Harley survive [14].

In January 2018, weeks after the 2017 federal tax cut became law, Harley announced it would close its plant in Kansas City, Missouri, cutting about 800 jobs while adding about 450 in York. In February 2018, its board approved buying back up to 15 million shares, worth about $696 million, along with a small dividend increase. The company said those moves were unrelated to its tax savings [15].

Harley's relationship with the president broke down within 18 months of that lunch. In June 2018, the European Union raised its tariff on American-made Harley motorcycles from 6 percent to 31 percent. That was retaliation for U.S. tariffs on European steel and aluminum. Harley told investors in a June 25, 2018 filing that the change would add about $2,200 to the cost of each motorcycle it shipped from the U.S. to Europe, and that it would not raise prices to cover it [5]. It said it would move production of Europe-bound motorcycles to its plants overseas [4].

Trump answered on Twitter the next day, warning that Harley would be "taxed like never before!" [16] In August 2018, he wrote: "Many @harleydavidson owners plan to boycott the company if manufacturing moves overseas. Great!" [4]. Harley's 2025 annual report says its plant in Thailand builds motorcycles for certain Asian and European markets [6]. The company announced that plant in May 2017, a year before the European tariff increase, saying it would make Harley more competitive in Southeast Asia and China [17].

During the 2018 fight, a quote spread online claiming Harley's chief executive at the time, Matthew Levatich, had called Trump "a moron." The fact-checking site Snopes rated the claim false. It traced the quote to a single tweet with no source, and Harley told Snopes the quote was "completely fake" [18].

The European fight continued after Trump's first term. In April 2021, Harley said European authorities had revoked a customs ruling it relied on, so that all its motorcycles, wherever they were built, would face a 56 percent tariff in Europe. Then chief executive Jochen Zeitz called it "an unprecedented situation" [19]. A U.S. and EU deal on steel and aluminum removed that tariff in November 2021, which Zeitz called a "big win" [20]. In March 2025, the EU again named Harley motorcycles among U.S. goods it planned to target in response to new U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs [21].

Tariffs cut the other way too. Harley's chief financial officer said the company paid $67 million in new or increased tariffs in 2025 and $45 million in the first quarter of 2026, and expects $75 million to $90 million for the full year [22]. He said U.S. tariff rules announced in early April 2026 exempted certain parts used to build motorcycles, which would "enable us to strengthen our commitment to US manufacturing." He added that "three of our four manufacturing centers are US-based and 100% of our US core product is manufactured in the US" [22]. Reuters reported that Harley still faces U.S. tariffs on imported components such as semiconductors, even though it sources about 75 percent of its components from American suppliers [7].

Where the Political Money Goes

Harley-Davidson runs a federal political action committee, or PAC, a fund that collects money from employees and gives it to candidates. It is called the Harley-Davidson Inc Political Action Committee, or HarleyPAC, and has filed with the Federal Election Commission since 1988 [10]. It is small and mostly dormant. FEC records show it has reported no new receipts since the 2018 election cycle. It had $44,496 in the bank as of July 31, 2026 [10].

Harley also publishes a yearly political engagement statement. Its statement for 2025 says the company made no contributions that year to take part in any political campaign, and its PAC made no contributions at all that year [11]. It says the company's state and federal PACs are funded only by voluntary employee contributions. A committee of senior leaders approves PAC contributions and, with senior management, sets the company's political strategy [11]. The statement also says Harley belongs to trade groups so it can express its views on public policy, even when it disagrees with their positions. It lists the part of its dues those groups reported spending on lobbying or politics in 2025: $54,798 to the American Financial Services Association, $4,048 to Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and $1,500 to the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce [11]. The company's statement for 2024 lists one PAC gift that year, to Sen. Tammy Baldwin, which matches the federal record [23].

The PAC's recent giving has been split between the parties. In the 2024 election cycle (2023 and 2024), it gave $7,500 to three candidates: Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), $2,500 each [24]. In the 2022 election cycle, it gave $7,500: $2,500 each to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) and GWEN PAC, the leadership PAC of Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) [24]. A leadership PAC is a separate fund a politician uses to support other candidates. The PAC reported no contributions in the 2026 cycle through July 31, 2026 [10].

A wider measure adds in donations of $200 or more from people who list Harley-Davidson as their employer, plus their family members. This is employee money, not corporate money. By that measure, OpenSecrets counts about $69,676 in the 2016 cycle (82.5 percent to Republicans) and $43,438 in 2018 (78.5 percent to Republicans). The split then flipped. It counts $66,763 in 2020 (53.8 percent to Democrats), $31,741 in 2022 (51.8 percent to Democrats) and $53,992 in 2024 (58.9 percent to Democrats) [25]. In 2024, the top single recipient of that money was Trump at $11,052, followed by Kamala Harris at $8,371 [26]. These figures are small for a company with about 5,500 employees [27].

These are federal records only. Harley's own statement says it runs a state PAC as well as a federal one [11]. In December 2018, HarleyPAC transferred $6,000 to a separate committee called the Harley-Davidson PAC of Wisconsin [24]. Giving to Wisconsin state candidates is not captured by the FEC or OpenSecrets and was not examined for this profile.

Two lookalikes should not be added to Harley's totals. Harley's motorcycles are sold mainly through independent dealers, and a dealer's political activity is its own [6]. One Milwaukee-area dealer, the House of Harley-Davidson, filed its own federal lobbying registration in 2002 [28].

The Lobbying Footprint

Harley spends a modest, steady amount on federal lobbying, mostly on trade, taxes and banking rules. Federal lobbying reports show about $240,000 in 2024 and again in 2025, split between two outside firms [28]. AVOQ was paid $160,000 a year to lobby for Harley-Davidson Motor Company. Its 2025 reports list trade and tariff policy, including Section 232 tariffs, plus research tax credits and tax reform [29]. Tiber Creek Group was paid $80,000 a year to lobby for Harley-Davidson Financial Services on rules for industrial loan companies, a type of bank charter that companies outside the banking industry can own [29].

The bills it lobbied on in 2024 include the Electric Motorcycle Parity Act of 2023 and the Close the Shadow Banking Loophole Act [30]. In 2022, lobbying was filed for LiveWire EV, LLC "and its affiliate Harley-Davidson Motor Company" [28]. LiveWire is Harley's electric motorcycle brand. Its parent, LiveWire Group, Inc., is a separately listed public company whose results Harley reports as one of its three business segments [6]. In December 2021, Harley agreed to take LiveWire public by merging it with AEA-Bridges Impact Corp., which it described as a blank-check company "with a dedicated sustainability focus." Harley expected to own about 74 percent of LiveWire when the deal closed [31].

The 2024 Retreat From Diversity Programs

Harley dropped several diversity programs in August 2024. The announcement came after about four weeks of online pressure from conservative activist Robby Starbuck, who posted a list of complaints in July saying the company had "gone totally woke" [9][32]. On August 19, 2024, Harley said in a statement that it was "saddened by the negativity on social media over the last few weeks, designed to divide the Harley-Davidson community" [8][9].

The company said it had not operated a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) function since April 2024 and has no hiring quotas [8]. It said it no longer has spending goals for suppliers owned by minorities, would drop "socially motivated" content from employee training, and would refocus its employee groups on business development, mentoring and training [9][32]. It said it would end its relationship with the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group, including its annual corporate rating [8][9]. It would also review all sponsorships and drop some, including LGBTQ Pride festivals, to focus on growing the sport of motorcycling [8]. In a July 26, 2024 staff email, Harley said the review behind the changes had begun earlier in the year, before Starbuck targeted the company [9].

The company's annual reports show the same shift. Harley's report for 2023, filed in February 2024, said its goals were "to develop an inclusive and diverse workforce." It published a breakdown of its workforce by gender and race and described a "Month of Inclusion" and a mentoring program "for diverse, rising leaders" [33]. Its report for 2024, filed in February 2025, dropped all of that, as well as a section on climate change and its stated path to net zero carbon emissions [33][34]. Its report for 2025, filed in February 2026, also dropped the phrase "Inclusive Stakeholder Management," which earlier reports had named as one of six priorities in the company's five-year plan. It did not add merit-based language in its place [6][34].

The dispute returned in June 2026. Starbuck accused Harley of breaking its 2024 promises. He criticized chief executive Artie Starrs for sponsoring a Pride group and an LGBTQ golf tournament that raised money for San Francisco Pride while running Topgolf, and for launching antiracism training for educators while running Pizza Hut. He also criticized chief brand officer Marcus Fischer's past advertising work [35][36]. He urged riders to go elsewhere [36]. Harley responded that "our only agenda is getting back to basics: building great motorcycles," adding, "We have made meaningful improvements and changes, and that work continues" [35].

Who Runs Harley Now

The company has a new chief executive. In 2025 the investment firm H Partners, which said it owned about 9.3 percent of the stock, campaigned against chief executive Jochen Zeitz. At the May 2025 shareholder meeting, about 49 percent of the shares voted on Zeitz were withheld, along with about 41 percent for director Thomas Linebarger and 42 percent for director Sara Levinson, the two other directors H Partners targeted [37]. In August 2025, Harley named Artie Starrs, then chief executive of Topgolf, as its president and chief executive, effective October 1, 2025. Zeitz stayed on as a senior advisor through February 2026 [38].

Much of Harley's recent profit has come from lending, not motorcycles. In 2025, its motorcycle business posted an operating loss of $29 million, while Harley-Davidson Financial Services earned $490 million in operating income [39]. That year Harley sold about $6 billion of the finance unit's existing customer loans, sold 9.8 percent of the unit to the investment firms KKR and PIMCO, and received a $1 billion dividend from it [40].

In May 2026, Starrs laid out a turnaround plan called "Back to the Bricks." It includes a roughly $6,000 entry-level motorcycle aimed at younger riders, a revived Sportster around $10,000, and more than $150 million in cost cuts [7].

Regulators and the Workforce

Harley has also settled with federal environmental regulators. In August 2016, the EPA and the Justice Department announced that Harley would pay a $12 million civil penalty over about 340,000 "super tuners," devices the government alleged let riders raise their motorcycles' emissions, and would spend $3 million replacing old wood stoves with cleaner ones [41]. In 2017, under a new policy against settlements that pay outside groups, the Justice Department asked to drop the wood stove project. In September 2020, a federal judge approved the revised settlement without the project [42].

About 1,700 of Harley's hourly workers at its U.S. plants are union members, about a third of its workforce. They are represented by the Machinists union in York, Pennsylvania, and by the Steelworkers and Machinists in Wisconsin [6].

Where to Find Them

Harley-Davidson sells motorcycles, parts, gear and apparel through independent dealers around the world and online at harley-davidson.com [6]. Its electric motorcycles are sold under the LiveWire brand, and it offers financing through Harley-Davidson Financial Services [6].

Footnotes

[1] Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, "Radio Address to the Nation on Free and Fair Trade and the Budget Deficit," May 16, 1987. https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/research/speeches/051687b

[2] Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, "Proclamation 5727: Termination of Import Relief on Certain Heavyweight Motorcycles," October 9, 1987. https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/research/speeches/100987c

[3] Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, "White House Diaries: Diary Entry, May 6, 1987." https://www.reaganfoundation.org/ronald-reagan/white-house-diaries/diary-entry-05061987

[4] Bloomberg (via Fortune), "President Trump Supports Harley-Davidson Boycott if Some Production Shifts Overseas," August 12, 2018. https://fortune.com/2018/08/12/trump-harley-davidson-boycott-support

[5] Harley-Davidson, Inc., Form 8-K, Item 7.01, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, June 25, 2018. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/793952/000079395218000038/a8-kitem701tariffdisclosur.htm

[6] Harley-Davidson, Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025, filed February 26, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/793952/000079395226000011/hog-20251231.htm

[7] Nathan Gomes, Reuters (via MarketScreener), "Harley-Davidson bets on affordable models, dealer network in latest turnaround effort," May 5, 2026. https://www.marketscreener.com/news/harley-davidson-bets-on-affordable-models-dealer-network-in-latest-turnaround-effort-ce7f58dcd988fe23

[8] Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN (via ABC17 News), "Harley-Davidson is dropping diversity initiatives after right-wing anti-DEI campaign," August 19, 2024. https://abc17news.com/money/cnn-business-consumer/2024/08/19/harley-davidson-is-dropping-diversity-initiatives-after-right-wing-anti-dei-campaign/

[9] Jeff Green, Bloomberg (via Fortune), "Harley Davidson, John Deere, and Tractor Supply axed some DEI efforts after a conservative influencer's campaign," August 19, 2024. https://fortune.com/2024/08/19/harley-davidson-john-deere-tractor-supply-robby-starbuck-dei

[10] Federal Election Commission, "Harley-Davidson Inc Political Action Committee (HarleyPAC), C00224725," committee filings and financial summary, accessed October 7, 2026. https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00224725/

[11] Harley-Davidson, Inc., "Political Engagement and Contributions Statement, FY2025," posted March 2026. https://s201.q4cdn.com/697889289/files/doc_document_list/2026/Mar/13/HDI-Political-Engagement-and-Contributions-Statement-FY2025-d4c246.pdf

[12] Ronald Reagan, The American Presidency Project, "Memorandum on Heavyweight Motorcycle Imports," April 1, 1983. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/memorandum-heavyweight-motorcycle-imports

[13] Harley-Davidson Archives, "York Factory Story," accessed October 7, 2026. https://www.harley-davidson.com/us/en/experiences/museum/archives/historicstories/yorkfactory.html

[14] Donald J. Trump, The American Presidency Project, "Remarks Prior to a Lunch With Harley-Davidson, Inc., Executives and Labor Union Representatives and an Exchange With Reporters," February 2, 2017. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/323457

[15] Rick Barrett, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY Network (via Chicago Sun-Times), "Harley-Davidson workers say plant closure after tax cut is like being stuck in a bad dream," May 27, 2018. https://chicago.suntimes.com/business/harley-davidson-workers-plant-closure-tax-cut/

[16] Darlene Superville, Associated Press (via Chicago Sun-Times), "Trump threatens Harley-Davidson with tax punishment for move," June 26, 2018. https://chicago.suntimes.com/business/trade-tariffs-donald-trump-harley-davidson/

[17] Reuters (via Fortune), "Harley-Davidson Is Building a Factory in Thailand to Serve Southeast Asia," May 25, 2017. https://fortune.com/2017/05/25/harley-davidson-thailand-factory

[18] Kim LaCapria, Snopes, "Did Harley Davidson's CEO Call President Trump 'a Moron'?," June 27, 2018. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/did-ceo-harley-davidson-trump-moron/

[19] Harley-Davidson, Inc. (press release via Cycle News), "Harley-Davidson, Inc. To Vigorously Defend Its Position Following Aggressive EU Tariff Ruling," April 19, 2021. https://www.cyclenews.com/2021/04/article/harley-davidson-inc-to-vigorously-defend-its-position-following-aggressive-eu-tariff-ruling/

[20] Jonathan Garber, Fox Business, "Harley-Davidson stock soars as US, EU reach deal on steel and aluminum tariffs," November 1, 2021. https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/harley-davidson-stock-us-eu-deal-steel-aluminum-tariffs

[21] Ryan Hogg, Fortune, "EU escalates Trump trade war by slapping import tariffs on Bourbon whiskey and Harley-Davidsons in $28 billion retaliation," March 12, 2025. https://fortune.com/europe/2025/03/12/eu-escalates-trump-trade-war-slapping-import-tariffs-bourbon-whiskey-harley-davidsons-28-billion-retaliation

[22] Harley-Davidson, Inc., first quarter 2026 earnings call transcript (remarks by chief financial officer Jonathan Root), The Motley Fool, May 5, 2026. https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2026/05/05/harley-davidson-hog-q1-2026-earnings-transcript/

[23] Harley-Davidson, Inc., "Political Engagement and Contributions Statement, FY2024," posted April 2025. https://s201.q4cdn.com/697889289/files/doc_governance/2025/Apr/23/HDI-Political-Engagement-and-Contributions-Statement-FY2024-3278f8.pdf

[24] Federal Election Commission, "Disbursements: Harley-Davidson Inc Political Action Committee (HarleyPAC)," 2018 to 2026 cycles, accessed October 7, 2026. https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?committee_id=C00224725

[25] OpenSecrets, "Harley-Davidson Inc: Totals, all cycles," accessed October 7, 2026. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/harley-davidson-inc/totals?cycle=A&id=D000026387

[26] OpenSecrets, "Harley-Davidson Inc: Recipients, 2024 cycle," accessed October 7, 2026. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/harley-davidson-inc/recipients?id=D000026387&cycle=2024

[27] Harley-Davidson, Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025, "Human Capital Management," filed February 26, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/793952/000079395226000011/hog-20251231.htm

[28] U.S. Senate and House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings database, client search "Harley-Davidson" and "LiveWire," accessed October 7, 2026. https://lda.gov/api/v1/filings/?client_name=harley-davidson

[29] AVOQ, LLC for Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Inc., and Tiber Creek Group for Harley-Davidson Financial Services, Inc., Lobbying Disclosure Act quarterly reports, second quarter 2025, accessed October 7, 2026. https://lda.gov/api/v1/filings/3774781b-2cff-48ab-a025-f26a8de546e8/ ; https://lda.gov/api/v1/filings/6412fb65-18e8-48b6-84fa-e5802a6c1a51/

[30] OpenSecrets, "Harley-Davidson Inc: Lobbying, Bills Lobbied, 2024," accessed October 7, 2026. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/harley-davidson-inc/lobbying?id=D000026387

[31] Harley-Davidson, Inc., "LiveWire To Become The First Publicly Traded EV Motorcycle Company In The U.S. Through Merger With AEA-Bridges Impact Corp.," December 13, 2021. https://investor.harley-davidson.com/news/news-details/2021/LiveWire-To-Become-The-First-Publicly-Traded-EV-Motorcycle-Company-In-The-U.S.-Through-Merger-With-AEA-Bridges-Impact-Corp/default.aspx

[32] Staff, Powersports Business, "Harley caves to online critics, cuts DEI efforts," August 21, 2024. https://powersportsbusiness.com/news/harley-davidson/2024/08/21/harley-caves-to-online-critics-cuts-dei-efforts

[33] Harley-Davidson, Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal year 2023, "Human Capital Management," filed February 23, 2024. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/793952/000079395224000076/hog-20231231.htm

[34] Harley-Davidson, Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal year 2024, "Human Capital Management," filed February 26, 2025. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/793952/000079395225000063/hog-20241231.htm

[35] Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY (via Yahoo Finance), "Harley-Davidson anti-DEI campaign revs up over new 'woke' allegations," June 3, 2026. https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/policy/articles/harley-davidson-anti-dei-campaign-134439147.html

[36] Eric Revell, Fox Business, "Harley-Davidson under fire from Robby Starbuck over alleged 'woke' leadership," June 5, 2026. https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/harley-davidson-under-fire-from-robby-starbuck-over-alleged-woke-leadership

[37] H Partners Management (press release via Business Wire), "H Partners Obtains Clear Referendum for Change at Harley-Davidson's 2025 Annual Meeting," May 14, 2025. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250514503704/en; Harley-Davidson, Inc., Form 8-K (annual meeting vote results), signed May 19, 2025. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/793952/000110465925050474/tm2512731d28_8k.htm

[38] Harley-Davidson, Inc., "Harley-Davidson Appoints Artie Starrs as President and Chief Executive Officer," August 4, 2025. https://investor.harley-davidson.com/news/news-details/2025/Harley-Davidson-Appoints-Artie-Starrs-as-President-and-Chief-Executive-Officer/default.aspx

[39] Harley-Davidson, Inc., "Harley-Davidson Delivers Fourth Quarter and Full Year Financial Results and 2026 Outlook," Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K, February 10, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/793952/000079395226000004/a8kq42025exhibit991.htm

[40] Harley-Davidson, Inc., Definitive Proxy Statement (Form DEF 14A), filed April 9, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/793952/000079395226000022/hog-20260409.htm

[41] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Harley-Davidson to Stop Sales of Illegal Devices that Increased Air Pollution from the Company's Motorcycles," August 18, 2016. https://www.epa.gov/archive/epa/newsreleases/harley-davidson-stop-sales-illegal-devices-increased-air-pollution-companys-motorcycles.html

[42] Arthur Thomas, BizTimes Milwaukee, "Judge finally OKs Harley-Davidson settlement with EPA from 2017," September 17, 2020. https://biztimes.com/judge-finally-oks-harley-davidson-settlement-with-epa-from-2017/