• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation

3

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion

1

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

2

OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation

3

‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
Politics
Europe

Anti-American sentiment rises in Europe as Trump fuels anger

By
Maggie Shiltagh
Maggie Shiltagh
and
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Maggie Shiltagh
Maggie Shiltagh
and
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 30, 2025, 10:45 AM ET
Demonstrators protest in front of a Tesla Service Center in Berlin on Saturday.
Demonstrators protest in front of a Tesla Service Center in Berlin on Saturday.Ralf Hirschberger—AFP via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Rising anti-American sentiment in Europe as President Donald Trump’s policies ruffle feathers is ushering in a shift in consumer behavior, not least in attitudes toward American goods.

Recommended Video

Trump’s threats to impose punitive tariffs on Europe, seize territories and pull military support in the region — including his handling of the war in Ukraine — have irked European consumers, fueling campaigns to boycott US products. 

There’s currently no country in Europe where more than half of the population has a positive attitude toward the US, according to a YouGov poll published March 4. Opinion soured the most in Denmark, where leaders and residents were riled by Trump’s plans to take control of Greenland.

Facebook groups urging the boycott of US goods have sprung up and amassed thousands of followers. One such Danish group, Boykot varer fra USA (Boycott products from USA) has drawn more than 92,000 members since it was created Feb. 3.

“I got more and more upset with his ways of declaring what is right and what is wrong,” Bo Albertus, one of the administrators of the group, said in an interview. “I began to feel like I need to do something.” 

Albertus, a Danish school principal, said he canceled all his streaming services in favor of European or Danish ones and no longer eats at American fast-food chains. 

Read more: French Companies Asked to Drop DEI to Keep US Government Work

“I thought the best way is to stop putting money in their pockets,” Albertus said. Almost every second Dane has deliberately refrained from buying an American product since Trump’s inauguration, a survey from Megafon for Danish broadcaster TV 2 shows. 

A similar Swedish group, Bojkotta varor från USA, has grown just as fast. 

“I was just angry, I didn’t know what to do,” said Jannike Kohinoor, a Swedish teacher and one of the creators of the group. Following Trump’s insinuations that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was to blame for the war, “our brains were just exploding,” she said. “Starting the group gave us an opportunity to do something.” 

Some 70% of Swedes have or are considering refraining from buying American products as a form of political protest, according to a survey from Verian conducted for Swedish state broadcaster SVT. One in 10 have boycotted US goods completely within the past month, while 19% have only stopped buying certain goods.

Salling Group AS, Denmark’s largest grocery group and the operator of supermarkets Bilka, Fotex and Netto, started marking whether a product is owned by a European company on its electronic price tags. That was in response to an increasing number of customers wanting to buy groceries from exclusively European brands, Chief Executive Officer Anders Hagh said in a LinkedIn post.

Still, any visible impact on European retail earnings would take a while to materialize, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Analyst Charles Allen said. “These market share shifts tend to take time.”

A growing number of US companies, already rattled by boycotts in Canada, have flagged the potential business risk of more discontent further afield.

The change in consumer behavior has been swift and dramatic for Tesla Inc., fueled by Europeans’ reaction to CEO Elon Musk’s antics and unwelcome involvement in European politics. Tesla’s sales plunged 76% in Germany last month as Musk angered voters taking part in the country’s closely contested federal election. Across Europe, sales of Tesla vehicles fell 45% in January and dropped 40% in February.

Demonstrators from London to Berlin joined a global anti-Tesla protest on Saturday, displaying their opposition to what they perceive as Musk’s undermining of democracy. 

Groupe Roy Energie SAS, which has ordered between five and 15 Tesla cars annually since 2021, has taken a stand by canceling an order of 15 cars in favor of European models despite their higher cost.

“Individual consumers, society, our countries, Europe must react,” Romain Roy, the company’s CEO, told French broadcaster Sud Radio.

In Norway, oil and shipping company Haltbakk Bunkers AS said it would no longer sell fuel to US forces or ships, a reaction to the Oval Office spat between Trump and Zelenskiy, according to public broadcaster NRK. “No fuel for Americans!” the company said in a now-deleted Facebook post. 

The reports prompted Norway’s Defense Minister Tore O. Sandvik to issue a statement saying that the reported boycott isn’t in line with Norwegian government policy.

At the grassroots level, it’s about doing what one can.

“I don’t know if we’re going to have an economic impact, I think that’s longer than a marathon,” Kohinoor said. “But maybe we can have a social impact.”

Subscribe to Fortune Gulf Brief. Every Tuesday, this new newsletter delivers clear-eyed, authoritative intelligence on the deals, decisions, policies, and power shifts shaping one of the world’s most consequential regions, written for the people who need to act on it. Sign up here.
About the Authors
By Maggie Shiltagh
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Bloomberg
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Politics

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in Politics

Anthea Hartig, Director of the National Museum of American History, looks to her left at a House Committee.
PoliticsWhite House
Smithsonian director derides a White House report branding the museum as ‘woke’
By The Associated Press and Steven SloanJuly 21, 2026
10 hours ago
Trump says ‘we’re gonna help’ Lebanon as he moves to restore direct flights after four-decade hiatus
North AmericaDonald Trump
Trump says ‘we’re gonna help’ Lebanon as he moves to restore direct flights after four-decade hiatus
By Kareem Chehayeb and Will WeissertJuly 21, 2026
11 hours ago
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sits and speaks at a Senate Committee Hearing
PoliticsDonald Trump
‘Without these funds, we face critical shortfalls’: Hegseth on additional defense spending following $37.5B Iran War price tag
By The Associated Press and Lisa MascaroJuly 21, 2026
11 hours ago
kid lying down on phone
PoliticsSocial Media
Lawmakers say they’re protecting kids—but their age checks are quietly building an ID requirement for the entire internet
By Catherina GioinoJuly 21, 2026
11 hours ago
Moldova’s parliament elects 44-year-old businessman investor Vasile Tofan as prime minister
PoliticsEuropean Union
Moldova’s parliament elects 44-year-old businessman investor Vasile Tofan as prime minister
By The Associated PressJuly 21, 2026
11 hours ago
Bill Gates called meeting Epstein a ‘grave error in judgment.’ A new review shows the Gates Foundation still met with him about 30 times
North AmericaBill Gates
Bill Gates called meeting Epstein a ‘grave error in judgment.’ A new review shows the Gates Foundation still met with him about 30 times
By James Pollard and The Associated PressJuly 21, 2026
12 hours ago

Most Popular

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
Success
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 20, 2026
2 days ago
OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation
Cybersecurity
OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation
By Jeremy Kahn and Emily ForliniJuly 21, 2026
12 hours ago
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
Success
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
By Sydney LakeJuly 20, 2026
2 days ago
Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem
AI
Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem
By Eva RoytburgJuly 21, 2026
16 hours ago
Despite a $156 million contract, Knicks star Jalen Brunson still calls his parents for financial advice any time he makes a big purchase
Success
Despite a $156 million contract, Knicks star Jalen Brunson still calls his parents for financial advice any time he makes a big purchase
By Emma BurleighJuly 21, 2026
17 hours ago
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
AI
'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini says we're headed for universal basic income or 'some form of socialism' as AI revolutionizes work—He calls that optimistic
By Jason MaJuly 18, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.