Trump Praises Foxconn, Criticizes Harley-Davidson

 

President Donald Trump¹ traveled to the American state of Wisconsin last week to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for a factory.

The factory is being built in an old farming community called Mount Pleasant. The Taiwan-based technology company Foxconn Technology Group will use the plant.

Trump joined Foxconn President Terry Gou, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and other officials at the ceremony on Thursday. Many people expressed hope that the $10 billion project will help the state’s economy.

Trump described the company’s plans for a high-tech² center as “the eighth wonder of the world.”

The president’s visit came as he criticized Harley-Davidson, one of Wisconsin’s leading manufacturers.

Harley-Davidson

The company recently said it will move some of its production overseas because of a European Union (EU) decision. EU officials announced plans for a 31 percent tariff³ on motorcycles made in the United States. The EU said it approved the new tax to answer Trump’s decision to place tariffs⁴ on foreign-made aluminum⁵ and steel.

The Harley-Davidson announcement angered the president. Trump expressed his displeasure on the Twitter social messaging service.

"Harley-Davidson should stay 100% in America, with the people that got you your success…I’ve done so much for you, and then this. Other companies are coming back where they belong! We won’t forget, and neither will your customers or your now very HAPPY competitors!" Trump wrote.

Harley-Davidson had no immediate⁶ comment on the president’s tweets.

Phil Levy⁷ says other U.S. companies are likely to follow Harley’s lead and move some of their operations overseas. Levy is with the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Illinois.

“We are likely to see more such business moves as the administration expands its protectionist policies,” Levy said. He added that Harley-Davidson has little choice but to move with market conditions.

In Wisconsin, many people think raising taxes on steel and aluminum imports will hurt the state. One study last week found that more than half of those questioned – 55 percent – feel this way. Only 29 percent think the tariffs will help the economy. The Marquette University Law School reported the findings.

“The state pretty solidly is doubtful about tariffs,” said Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette Law School survey.

Foxconn deal

Last July, Trump stood with Wisconsin Congressman⁸ Paul Ryan to announce Foxconn’s decision to build the huge plant in the state. Ryan is speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. The factory is being built in his home district.

The deal included more than $4 billion in tax breaks from state and local governments. Foxconn promised to create more than 13,000 jobs. It said the average worker would earn about $50,000 a year.

Governor Walker and other politicians have said they hope Foxconn will create a high-tech center much like California’s Silicon⁹ Valley.

However, a local newspaper, The Sentinel Journal, recently reported that Foxconn has changed its plans for the factory. It said the company had promised a “Gen 10.5” factory, a term for a factory that creates large television screens from large pieces of glass. Instead, the company admitted it is building a “Gen 6” factory, a much smaller and less costly¹⁰ plant that uses smaller pieces of glass.

Foxconn said it still plans to build a “Gen 10.5” factory in the coming years.

Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan¹¹ Milwaukee Association of Commerce, continues to support the deal.

"What Wisconsin can control here is the ability to take a step forward in transforming our economy with an investment in one of the best digital technology players in the world,” he said.

The deal between Wisconsin and Foxconn involves a lot of money. The company was promised $764 million in local subsidies¹² and a $140 million electric-power expansion paid for by power company customers. It was also promised road improvements worth about $100 million and $3 billion in state tax credits.

That $3 billion will end up being money paid to Foxconn since Wisconsin requires no taxes on manufacturing profits.

State taxpayers¹³ could be paying about 13% of the cost of the factory project and 17% of the wages for Foxconn’s Wisconsin employees through 2032. The jobs subsidy¹⁴ amount is equal to more than $200,000 per job.

Trump’s support for Foxconn and anger at Harley-Davidson has put Scott Walker in a difficult position. How can the Wisconsin governor continue to work with motorcycle manufacturer without appearing to contradict the president?

Walker, who owns a 2003 Harley-Davidson Road King, released a statement last week.

“Governor Walker believes there should be no tariffs or trade barriers as the president stated earlier this month at the G7 summit,” it read.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

tariff - n. a tax on goods coming into or leaving a country

doubtful - adj. uncertain or unsure about something

screen - n. the part of a television or computer that you look at when you are using it

transforming - v. to change (something) completely and usually in a good way

digital - adj. using or characterized by computer technology

subsidy - n. money that is paid usually by a government to keep the price of a product or service low or to help a business or organization to continue to function

customer - n. someone who buys goods or services from a business

contradict - v. to say the opposite of (something that someone else has said)

summit - n. a meeting or series of meetings between the leaders of two or more governments

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

3 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

4 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

5 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。

8 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

9 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

10 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

11 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

12 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

14 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。