US President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs are roiling not just stock markets but supermarkets, too. Shoppers are shunning US products not only in the “51^st state” north of the US border but also in the Nordic nation from which he covets Greenland.

While Canadian anger against Washington has been growing since Mr Trump called Canada the 51^st state in December 2024, Denmark has been outraged, too, by his demand to hand over Greenland to the US. The island, though geographically within the North American continent, is an autonomous territory that is part of Denmark. While the leaders of both Denmark and Greenland have categorically rejected Mr Trump’s demands, ordinary people have also been showing their displeasure when they go shopping.

Consumer activism

CNBC correspondent Karen Gilchrist witnessed the shoppers’ backlash against America when she visited Denmark. Speaking on the CNBC news programme Squawk Box on April 11, she recalled “little acts of activism from consumers who have decided to turn their backs on certain US products”.

“Now, this is something that we saw started in Canada,” she said, “but it’s also translated to Europe” and “one country in particular – Denmark.”

Intriguingly, the shoppers’ rejection of US goods is being “aided in part by companies and supermarkets that have added particular labelling to their products to indicate that they’re European-made – and that allows consumers to make their choices,” said Gilchrist.  “Many I spoke to on the ground have said, yes, that’s absolutely informing their decisions and they may be choosing it because it’s a little bit of an FU to the President,” she explained.

Mood in France and Spain

Gilchrist said consumers in France, too, are indicating they will be boycotting US products, while campaigns in Spain are urging people to buy more locally. France and Spain are both part of the European Union, which has been hit with a 20% tariff by President Trump, although it’s currently on hold – paused – for 90 days. Big US brands like Tesla and McDonald’s have been rejected by some consumers in Europe, she added.

However, ordinary consumers’ shopping decisions have only a limited impact on US trade with other countries. As another woman panellist on the news programme told Gilchrist, “It’s fascinating this fighting with their feet for the Danes because the reality is the biggest goods trade are all items that the consumers can do very little about. I was looking from the American side into Denmark. It is crude, it’s planes, it’s refined petroleum. So good luck doing without any of that for the Danes. But conversely, the other way around for packaged medicines, vaccines, orthopaedic equipment appliances. Good luck doing without that for the Americans if they were to boycott some of the Danish [products].”

“Exactly”, agreed Gilchrist. “Some of these Danish exports are huge for the US market.”

Yes, the truth is that global trade and manufacturing have become too deeply intertwined to be quickly unravelled, even in the heat of a trade war.

Gilchrist went on to take stock of anti-American feelings in Canada and Europe.

A lot of Canadian carriers are saying their travellers no longer want to travel to the US, she said. “They might be looking at other parts of North America. And there’s sort of early indications from Europe that that might be the case there, too.” There are reports that “bookings from Europe to the US are down 25% over the summer period, but data’s not quite fleshing that out fully yet,” she added.

Gilchrist conceded that anti-Americanism is not the only reason some prefer European products. “One of the shoppers told me … there is this understanding that potentially the standards are sometimes higher in Europe, and that does inform a lot of shoppers’ decisions.” For example, American standards for poultry products and car safety are reportedly less stringent than those of Europe. The European Union’s emphasis on protecting user data privacy is also manifest every time one opens a European website page for the first time. But despite their differences, America and Europe have managed to get along so long  – and so have the rest of the world.

Gilchrist said the shoppers’ rejection of US goods may be only a passing phase. ” You know it’s easy to make these short-term protests, perhaps, but how long does that last? What are the economic implications of these trade spats, and whether that will impact the consumer patterns long-term?” she asked. The answer may be blowing in the wind, but it doesn’t take a wind-whisperer to see that, like every crisis, this too shall pass.

There’s still hope for American brands. Guess where shoppers boycotting American products are meeting online? On Facebook pages! Even the critics of America can’t do with American social media. Such is the power of America – for now.