Buy American? No thanks, Europe says, as tariff backlash grows

Straits Times

05-05-2025

On a French-run 'Boycott USA!' Facebook channel with 31,000 members, people boast about buying Adidas, a German brand, over Nike. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
Buy American? No thanks, Europe says, as tariff backlash grows
PARIS – For motorcycle lovers in Sweden, Harley-Davidson is the hottest brand on the road. Jack Daniel's whiskey beckons from the bar at British pubs. In France, Levi's jeans are all about chic.
But in the tumult of US President Donald Trump's trade war with Europe, many European consumers are starting to avoid US products and services in what appears to be a decisive and potentially long-term shift away from buying American, according to a new assessment by the European Central Bank.
In April, Mr Trump imposed a 10 per cent blanket tariff on America's trading partners and threatened 'reciprocal tariffs' on many of those, including the European Union.
Companies like Tesla and McDonald's are seeing customers in Europe put off by 'Made in America.'
'The newly imposed US trade tariffs on European products are causing European consumers to think twice about what's in their shopping cart,' the ECB wrote in a blog post about its research on consumer behaviour. 'Consumers are very willing to actively move away from US products and services.'
Europeans had already begun testing grassroots boycotts on American products, including Heinz ketchup and Lay's potato chips, shortly after Mr Trump took office.
His threats to take over Greenland, part of Denmark, energised Danes to organise no-buy campaigns on Facebook.
Tesla owners in Sweden slapped 'shame' bumper stickers on their cars to distance themselves from Mr Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO who is one of Mr Trump's top advisers.
But Europeans' anguish over Mr Trump's treatment of America's longtime allies has hardened as he has moved to rewire world trade with steep global tariffs, the central bank found.
MrTrump took particular aim at the European Union, which he called 'very, very bad to us' for not buying more from the United States, and threatened the bloc with a 20 per cent 'reciprocal' tariff in April.
Such talk bewildered many Europeans and rattled EU leaders, who retaliated with a 25 per cent duty on many US goods.
Both sides called a temporary truce after Mr Trump abruptly reversed course and delayed tariffs until the summer.
But the 10 per cent baseline tariff is still in place, and a trans-Atlantic trade war could easily flare again.
And even if a trade deal is reached, Europe's newfound wariness of its longtime ally will not easily be unwound.
The ECB study found that even if a mere 5 per cent tax was placed on American products sold in Europe, Europeans would be inclined to shun them.
What is new, the central bank said, is a 'preference' among European consumers 'to move away from US products and brands altogether,' no matter what the cost.
That was the case even for households that could bear the brunt of higher prices.
'Even though they could afford more expensive US products and services, they consciously choose alternatives,' the bank said. 'This suggests that consumers' reactions may not just be a temporary response to tariff increases, but instead signal a possible long-term structural shift in consumer preferences away from US products and brands.'
In Germany and Italy, developers have created apps that scan grocery and clothing items for people who want to make sure they are not buying American. The top app, BrandSnap, even suggests European alternatives.
On a French-run 'Boycott USA!' Facebook channel with 31,000 members, people boast about buying Adidas, a German brand, over Nike and New Balance, and post stories about avoiding travel to the United States.
In a Danish Facebook group with 95,000 members, people try to help each other figure out if products like Gillette Mach 3 razor blades or Schweppes soda are from the United States.
One run from Sweden promotes alternatives to Airbnb and is calling for a European boycott on Meta platforms for a week in May.
Europeans have also posted online to say they have begun cancelling subscriptions to US streaming giants, including Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.
Some consumers who have boycotted Amazon have gone online to lament that delivery from alternate e-commerce platforms in their countries is slower or less reliable but say that they are staying the course.
Millions of people still buy American goods and services worldwide, but US companies and investors are keeping a close eye on international markets for signs of anti-American sentiment related to Mr Trump's policies.
In Europe, Tesla sales continued a sharp decline in April, data showed, including an 81 per cent plunge in Sweden from a year earlier, as protests against Mr Musk's political views held steady.
And McDonald's said it was observing growing negative attitudes abroad toward US brands, especially in Northern Europe and Canada.
International consumers are 'going to be cutting back their purchase of American brands, and we've seen an uptick in anti-American sentiment,' the burger chain's CEO, Mr Chris Kempczinski, said in a call with analysts last week.
The McDonald's brand does not seem to have been damaged yet – same-store sales in Canada and Europe were down only 1 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier.
But there is an '8- to a 10-point increase in anti-American sentiment,' he said. NYTIMES
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