In just a few weeks, Donald Trump has caused enormous damage to relations with important US partners. The new US president's frontal attacks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the blocking of further US military aid, doubts about NATO and large-scale tariffs on important trading partners have shaken Europe and are making many wonder: how can European consumers react to all this?
While EU countries are rapidly strengthening their defense industries, resistance is also forming on the Internet, writes the German public media BR. "Europe first" is now the new motto for many - for example, for Finnish Ukraine activist Pekka Kallioniemi. At the end of February, his tweet with a list of European alternatives to American products generated over 1.5 million views and 5,500 retweets in the first 24 hours. In it, he calls for "Let's make Europe stronger by buying European goods!" and offers "a very Scandinavian list of alternatives", but writes that he expects other suggestions for substitutes for American products.
The goal of the "BuyFromEU" protest movement is similar: a boycott of US products and brands and targeted support for local European alternatives. It is organized on the Reddit platform and already has nearly 150,000 supporters, with thousands of new ones joining every day.
How to replace American products
Whether it's socks, ketchup, sports goods or mobile phone headsets - the forum offers European alternatives for all possible products. On the website www.GoEuropean.org, to which "BuyFromEU" refers, you can enter the name of an American product or brand and find local alternatives. For example, instead of Facebook, X and Instagram, it recommends Mastodon and BeReal. As an alternative to streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+, European providers such as Viaplay or britbox are listed. There are even alternatives to fast food: instead of McDonald's and KFC, the website lists chains such as Max Burgers or Big Bite.
The "BuyFromEU" project is, according to its own data, backed by around 30 volunteers. For them, Europe is not just the EU, but all 46 countries of the Council of Europe. The project, which was only launched in mid-February, is funded by private donations.
However, the Reddit group is not just a "shopping guide". There are also heated debates there - for example, on the recent announcement by the French satellite company Eutelsat that it will supply satellite terminals to Ukraine in the future.
In "BuyFromEU" you can also see calls like this: "Let's stop working for Silicon Valley and start building a European Valley". American consumers are also active in the forum, expressing their solidarity.
Following the example of Canada, where they hid alcohol from the US
"BuyFromEU" draws inspiration from Canada. There, the outrage over Trump's policies is even more palpable. But the economic ties are also much stronger. For many companies on both sides of the border, tariffs are a matter of economic survival.
For weeks, Canadian supermarkets have been removing more and more American products from their shelves. Alcoholic beverage manufacturers, for example, for whom Canada is a very important sales market, have been hit hard. Brown Forman, the company behind American whiskey Jack Daniel's, has already complained that the sales freeze is an "inappropriate response" and has already caused significantly more damage than the tariffs imposed by Trump.
Moving on in Europe
Meanwhile, the boycott has gone beyond Reddit - for example, in the form of the Danish app Madeometer, which helps identify American products on supermarket shelves. And at the end of February, the Danish supermarket chain Salling announced that products made in Europe will be specially labeled on the shelves of its stores. It remains to be seen whether other European chains will follow suit.
Beyond this, another trend is noticeable in Europe: a decline in Tesla sales. And the change in public attitudes could also lead to a long-term rethinking of public procurement and the awarding of contracts in large companies and public authorities, writes the German public media ZDF in this regard.
"BuyFromEU" is not fundamentally opposed to consumption or large corporations - as long as they come from Europe. The group's members welcome the new Volkswagen model in the same way as a newly established clothing company from Ukraine or a new mobile phone manufacturer from the Netherlands.
If Trump carries out his threats in the near future and the US and the EU impose additional high tariffs, the "BuyFromEU" group will likely grow even more. Then, in addition to the moral outrage over the US actions, the financial incentive to switch to local alternatives will also increase, writes ZDF.