Spirit Lake, Iowa — Some northwest Iowa jobs may be headed to Poland, and if they do, changes in tariffs may be to blame.
Polaris Industries builds some of their Indian Motorcycles in Spirit Lake, with others built in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Alabama. But reports indicate that due to new retaliatory tariffs from the European Union placed on products built in the United States and sold in Europe, they are considering moving production to a plant in Poland.
Sales of US-made Indian motorcycles in Europe would be slapped with a several-thousand-dollar tariff. Experts say the new tariff was imposed in retaliation for The Trump administration’s new tariffs on European steel and aluminum.
Polaris spokesperson Jess Rogers states that there are no firm plans at this time, but, “The escalating trade war is increasing our costs and has required us to expend time, energy and resources to evaluate a range of mitigation plans.”
Polaris has had a plant in Poland since 2014. It currently makes all-terrain vehicles.
