U.S. trade rep tells ‘UpFront’ ‘there’s a cost’ when companies like Harley manufacture overseas

Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, says “there’s a cost to it” when companies like Harley-Davidson manufacture parts or pieces overseas and not in the United States.

“Any decision you make as a business, there’s a cost you take into account,” Greer said on WISN 12’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics-State Affairs. “We’re trying to help companies understand that if you make in America, you build in America, you’ll have the benefits of sourcing from America, and that means no tariff.”

Greer and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy talked to “UpFront” inside the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee as the G20 Trade Ministerial was coming to an end.

“If you’re going to go overseas, that’s fine. You can do that. There’s just going to be a fee on foreign goods that are made by foreign workers coming in here,” Greer said.

Harley-Davidson has previously said the Trump administration’s tariffs cost the company $67 million in 2025.

“I want more Americans employed here making stuff,” Greer said. “Today I heard from the Australian trade minister that some of the hubcaps are made for Harley in Australia. That’s great. That’s great, you know, it’s great for Australia, and I’m sure Harley has a good reason for doing that, but the reality is we want people making stuff here. Harley is a great American producer. They employ a lot of people here, and we want to support them.”

Earlier this year, 10 Wisconsin companies sued the Trump administration over its tariffs policy seeking a refund.

“Well, I don’t think so,” Greer said when asked if U.S.-based companies should receive a refund. “My view on this, and I’ve shared this with a lot of companies, is if you’re going to get money back, if you’re going to take this money back out of the Treasury because you want to import, you should be plowing this back into wages for your workers. You should be plowing it back into bonuses for people making things here. You should be plowing it back into investment in this country.”

Duffy, a former Wisconsin congressman, said “this is an election around the cost of living,” dismissing the notion that the Trump administration’s tariffs policy will have a big impact in November.

“I don’t think that’s going to come into play in this election cycle,” Duffy said. “This is an election around the cost of living, and I think the president has been incredibly focused on it.”

Last week’s Marquette University Law School poll showed 70% of Wisconsinites said they either somewhat or strongly oppose raising tariffs on imported goods from Canada.

“So when I was in Congress, we have a lot of dairy farmers in Wisconsin, and I heard complaints for the near 10 years I was in Congress about how unfair Canada was for dairy exports,” Duffy said. “And so they may have been analyzing this today, but President Trump and Jamieson are trying to get America to a better place, a fairer place, and I think the days of foreign countries taking advantage of America being able to sell their products in America tariff-free but then putting tariff or non-tariff barriers on American products, those days are over.”

Also on the program, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, says internal polling shows a “toss up” in Wisconsin’s 1st CD between GOP Rep. Bryan Steil and Dem Mitchell Berman.

“We will have enough resources to make sure people know who Mitchell Berman is,” DelBene told “UpFront.” “When they do, he wins.

“We’re up on the air with the ad right now,” DelBene added. “We want to make sure he has the resources to get that message out.”

The DCCC recently added the district to its “red to blue” list, a move by Democrats nationally to funnel resources into the district.

Steil, who won the district by 10 points two years ago, has maintained a major fundraising lead over Berman. The latest congressional campaign finance reports are due in mid-October.

“Having money but no substance doesn’t help you very much,” DelBene said.

Alongside the 1st, the DCCC has listed Wisconsin’s 3rd CD as another target district between GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden and Democrat Rebecca Cooke.

“We need three to take back the majority and the gavel,” DelBene said. “We are absolutely going to take back the majority in November. I always give an unsatisfying answer because I want to make sure we win seats all across the country, so I’m not going to give a specific number, but I will tell you we have over 50 seats across the country where we’re on offense.”

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