Germany in turmoil Majority want to boycott US products in customs dispute
According to a survey, many people in Germany want to boycott products from the USA in future. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
Many online services are also owned by US companies. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
According to a survey, many people in Germany want to boycott products from the USA in future. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
Many online services are also owned by US companies. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
Filling up your car, washing your hair or typing a message on your cell phone - US products are everywhere. According to a survey, many people in Germany now want to do without them.
28.03.2025, 20:46
28.03.2025, 20:52
dpa
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- Many people in Germany want to reduce their consumption of American products.
- 53 percent of more than 2000 respondents no longer want to buy US products - or at least want to limit their consumption.
- Only around a quarter of those surveyed can still imagine going on vacation in the USA.
From petrol at the pump and iPhones to online retailers and streaming services - it is hard to imagine everyday life without products from the USA. Nevertheless, according to a representative YouGov survey, more than half of people in Germany no longer want to buy US goods in the event of a customs dispute.
Political protest at the checkout
When asked whether they could imagine continuing to buy products from the USA in view of the tariff dispute, 53% of the more than 2,000 respondents answered "No, definitely not" or "No, probably not".
The main reason given by respondents was political - many (48%) wanted to deliberately boycott the USA. In addition, many people are not prepared to pay higher prices for American products in the context of the tariff dispute (44%).
In contrast, 9 percent of respondents definitely want to continue buying products from the USA, and a further 25 percent "probably". However, a good third (34%) of those willing to buy said that they could not identify exactly which products come from the USA. Around one in five (22%) of this group consider a boycott by individual consumers to be pointless.
Vacation planning also affected
Vacation plans could also be affected: Only around a quarter of those surveyed can still imagine taking a vacation in the USA. 37 percent rule this out or consider it unlikely - also mainly for political reasons.
A complete boycott of US companies would ultimately not only mean a rejection of American products, but ultimately also the abandonment of Google searches, Instagram posts, WhatsApp messages, Netflix movies or orders from Amazon, for example. The survey left open the question of whether people would be prepared to do this - and it is also likely to be much more difficult in everyday life than in theory.
