South Korean media: More than half of Germans refuse to buy American products!
On April 2, the South Korean media "Everyday Economics" published an article stating that with the intensification of the trade conflict between the United States and the European Union, there are signs that a boycott of American products will spread within Germany. A recent poll found that more than half of Germans do not plan to purchase American products in the future.
A survey conducted by the research institution YouGov showed that 53% of German respondents said they would no longer buy American products. On the other hand, only 34% of people said they would continue to purchase them.
Of those who said they would not buy American products, 48% cited political reasons such as tariff policies. Additionally, 44% of people said that if retaliatory tariffs from Europe cause prices of American products to rise, they would find it difficult to afford them economically.
This survey was conducted from February 24 to 26, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on foreign cars.
Meanwhile, across Europe, as people become increasingly disenchanted with the Trump administration, including a sharp decline in Tesla car sales, signs of a boycott movement have emerged. In Denmark, pension funds have excluded Tesla stocks from their investments, and some supermarkets have marked European products with black stars for differentiation.
However, some experts analyze that this boycott is unlikely to inflict substantial damage on the U.S. economy. This is because the proportion of American-made food and daily necessities is small, and there are no suitable alternatives in areas dependent on American products.
Harald Oberhofer of the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO) stated, "Agriculture is not an important area in the U.S.-EU trade relationship, and replacing American computer operating systems with Chinese ones would not benefit the U.S."
The German media "Focus Weekly" pointed out, "Ironically, the boycott was organized on the American platform Reddit."
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1828279418106892/
Disclaimer: The article represents the views of the author alone.