'Danish Viking blood is boiling.' Danes boycott US goods with fervor as
others in Europe do so too
[March 18, 2025] By
VANESSA GERA
Ivan Hansen, a retired Danish police officer, loaded up his basket at
the supermarket, carefully checking each product to avoid buying
anything made in the United States. No more Coca-Cola, no more
California Zinfandel wine or almonds.
The 67-year-old said it's the only way he knows to protest U.S.
President Donald Trump's policies. He's furious about Trump's threat to
seize the Danish territory of Greenland, but it's not just that. There
are also the threats to take control of the Panama Canal and Gaza. And
Trump's relationship with Elon Musk, who has far-right ties and made
what many interpreted as a straight-armed Nazi salute.
On his recent shopping trip, Hansen returned home with dates from Iran.
It shocked him to realize that he now perceives the United States as a
greater threat than Iran.
“Trump really looks like a bully who tries in every way to intimidate,
threaten others to get his way," he told The Associated Press. “I will
fight against that kind of thing.”
A growing boycott movement across Europe
Hansen is just one supporter of a growing movement across Europe and
Canada to boycott U.S. products. People are joining Facebook groups
where they exchange ideas about how to avoid U.S. products and find
alternatives. Feelings are especially strong across the Nordic region —
and very possibly strongest in Denmark given Trump's threats to seize
Greenland.
Google trends showed a spike in searches for the term “Boycott USA,” and
“Boycott America,” as Trump announced new tariffs, with the top regions
including Denmark, Canada and France. At the same time, a global
backslash is also building against Tesla as the brand becomes tied to
Trump, with plunging sales in Europe and Canada. In Germany, police were
investigating after four Teslas were set on fire Friday.
Elsebeth Pedersen, who lives in Faaborg on the Danish island of Funen,
just bought a car and made a point of not even looking at U.S.-made
options.
“Before Elon Musk started to act like a maniac a Tesla could have been
an option. And maybe a Ford,” she said.
French entrepreneur Romain Roy said his solar panel firm has bought a
new Tesla fleet each year since 2021 but canceled its order for another
15 to take a stand against Musk's and Trump’s policies.
Describing the United States as “a country closing in on itself,” he
cited Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord and Musk’s arm
gestures. He said he was instead buying European models, even though it
would cost an additional 150,000 euros ($164,000).
“Individual consumers, society, our countries, Europe must react,” he
told broadcaster Sud Radio.
Responding to consumer demand, Denmark’s largest supermarket chain, the
Salling Group, created a star-shaped label this month to mark
European-made goods sold in its stores. CEO Anders Hagh said it's not a
boycott, but a response to consumers demanding a way to easily avoid
American products.
“Our stores will continue to have brands on the shelves from all over
the world, and it will always be up to customers to choose. The new
label is only an additional service for customers who want to buy goods
with European labels,” he said in a LinkedIn post.
‘I have never seen Danes so upset’
For Bo Albertus, "when Trump went on television and said he would by
political force or military force take a piece of the Danish kingdom, it
was just too much for me.”
The 57-year-old said he felt powerless and had to do something. He has
given up Pepsi, Colgate toothpaste, Heinz ketchup and California wine,
and replaced them with European products.
He is now an administrator of the Danish Facebook page “Boykot varer fra
USA” (Boycott goods from the U.S.), which has swelled to over 80,000
members.
“Drink more champagne,” one user posted after Trump threatened 200%
tariffs on EU wine and Champagne.
Albertus, a school principal, told the AP he really misses the strong
taste of Colgate. But he's been pleasantly surprised at finding a cola
replacement that is half the price of Pepsi.
[to top of second column] |
Spirits with and without the star mark in Bilka in Randers, Denmark,
making it easier for customers to buy European goods, Monday, March
17, 2025. (Bo Amstrup/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
 Trump's policies have “brought the
Danish Viking blood boiling,” said Jens Olsen, an electrician and
carpenter. He is now considering replacing $10,000 worth of
U.S.-made DeWalt power tools even though it will cost him a lot.
He has already found European replacements for an American popcorn
brand and California-made Lagunitas IPA beer, which he calls “the
best in the world.”
“I’ve visited the brewery several times, but now I don’t buy it
anymore,” he said. He has mixed feelings because he is a dual
Danish-U.S. citizen, and has spent a lot of time in the United
States. But he can't contain his anger.
“I’m 66 years old and I have never seen the Danes so upset before,”
he said.
Michael Ramgil Stæhr has canceled a fall trip to the U.S. and is
among many choosing to buy Danish instead of American-made, though
he cannot pinpoint the exact moment he made the decision.
“Maybe it was when (Trump) announced to the world press that he
intended to ‘take’ Greenland and the Panama Canal, and if necessary
by military force. That and the gangster-like behavior towards the
Ukrainian president in the White House,” the 53-year-old Copenhagen
resident said.
“The man is deadly dangerous and is already costing lives” in the
developing world and Ukraine, added Stæhr, who works helping
disabled war veterans, many of whom got injured serving alongside
U.S. troops in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan. He himself served
in Bosnia.
Rising anger in France, too
Edouard Roussez, a farmer from northern France, launched an online
group, “Boycott USA, Buy French and European!” that in just two
weeks has attracted over 20,000 members on Facebook.
Roussez believes a boycott of U.S. companies is a good way to
express opposition to Trump’s policies, especially “the commercial
and ideological war” he believes Trump is waging against Europe.
“First of all, these are the companies that financed Donald Trump’s
campaign,” he said on state-owned LCP television channel. “I’m
thinking of Airbnb, I’m thinking of Uber, I’m thinking of Tesla of
course.”
The irony of it all? The group is on Facebook. Roussez said only the
American online social media platform gave him the reach he needed.
But he's working to migrate the group to other platforms with no
U.S. funding or capital.
As for any impact on U.S. export profits or policymaking, that's
unlikely, said Olof Johansson Stenman, a professor of economics at
the University of Gothenburg.
The boycott could have a psychological effect on Americans who see
the scale of anger, but “some may also say, ‘We don’t like these
Europeans anyway,’” Stenman said.
Some choices are harder than others
Simon Madsen, 54, who lives in the Danish city of Horsens with his
wife and 13-year-old twins, says the family has given up Pringles,
Oreos and Pepsi Max. Not so hard, really.
But now they're discussing doing without Netflix, and that is a step
too far for the kids.
He also wonders whether he should keep buying Danish-made Anthon
Berg chocolate marzipan bars, which are made with American almonds.
It's important, he said, for people to use the power of the purse to
pressure companies to change.
“It’s the only weapon we’ve got,” he said.
____
AP writers Stefanie Dazio in Berlin, John Leicester and Samuel
Petrequin in Paris, and Laurie Kellman in London contributed.
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