Danish shoppers boycott U.S. products as Greenland — and trade — tensions escalate

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Incensed by President Donald Trump’s posturing over Greenland and sweeping trade tariffs, Danish shoppers are turning their backs on American products in a show of national protest.

The small European nation and longtime U.S. ally has lately found itself in the president’s crosshairs amid his ambitions over Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish island. Meanwhile, new U.S. tariffs, recently reduced to 10%, now hinder EU exports to one of its key markets.

Trump has repeatedly said the U.S. should take control of Greenland, which houses American military facilities, in the interests national security. Danish officials have fervently rejected the notion, and now —much like in Canada, which Trump would like to make the 51st U.S. state — consumers are making a stand.

“It’s the only way they [shoppers] can make a little protest on Trump,” Sanne, a store worker at a Copenhagen branch of Danish grocery store chain Føtex, told CNBC.

“F— the U.S. basically at this point,” said shopper Sanja, an Australian now living in Copenhagen.

Salling Group, which owns Føtex and other supermarket chains Bilka and Netto, has made the process of avoiding U.S. products easier by last month introducing an asterisk to the price tags of all European-owned brands across its more than 1,700 stores in Denmark, Germany and Poland.

A spokesperson for Salling Group said the move was not about “boycotting” U.S. products, but came in response to a number of recent inquiries from shoppers seeking “clearer information about European ownership.”

Still, several shoppers told CNBC they welcomed the move.

“I would prefer European products versus American, not only because of the conflict, but also the standards. Now that the conflict is what it is, it’s even more so,” said Sanja, whose mother was visiting from Australia and said she, likewise, planned to shun U.S. products back home.

Another shopper, Eva, agreed: “Yes, I would avoid American products. I think they need a new president.”

The boycotting of U.S. products has been mirrored elsewhere in Europe, with the #BoycottUSA hashtag spreading on social media and Facebook groups emerging to help consumers locate regionally made goods. It follows similar moves by shoppers in Canada, where Americano coffees have been renamed Canadianos.

Big U.S. brands have also faced a backlash, with one French poll pointing to pushback against household names like Starbucks, McDonald’s and Coca Cola. Perhaps the most prominent among them, Tesla has seen sales drop significantly across the region, with some dealerships in Germany, Italy and Sweden vandalized in a rejection of CEO Elon Musk’s political moves.

Trump last week slapped 20% duties on all imports from Europe as part of wider reciprocal tariffs against more than 180 countries. The move, which sparked days of market turmoil, was later temporarily paused, but is nevertheless expected to upend global supply chains and consumer spending habits worldwide.

Jens Lund, CEO of Danish logistics firm DSV, told CNBC last week that some trade impacts were already being felt from the tariffs, but others may take longer to flesh out.

“Time will tell how the consumer reacts, because it’s the consumer who will decide at the end of the day,” Lund said. “On larger items, for example cars, there [are] less sales.”

He nevertheless noted that some protests may be short-lived, as consumers ultimately return to their normal habits.

“Consumers, they vote with their feet and what is the cheapest product. Where is it they get the best value product, this is how the consumer does it,” Lund said.

For Føtex shopper Lourdes, originally from France, that’s the reality: “We go for the deal,” she said. “If there is a star [marking a European product] but the price is higher, I’ll go for the cheaper option.”

The change in shopping patterns points to a wider shift in consumer sentiment, with data suggesting travelers are also increasingly turning their backs on trips to the U.S. amid Trump’s trade policies, unfavorable currency fluctuations and high-profile detainments of visa-holders.

Canada’s largest airline Air Canada said last week that bookings for trans-border flights from Canada to U.S. cities were down 10% for the April-to-September period versus last year. Travel data provider OAG, meanwhile, said Canada-U.S. flight bookings were down 70%.

It follows earlier comments from the vice chair of Canadian carrier WestJet, who said that U.S.-Canada border crossings were down as passengers “shift from the U.S. to other destinations.”

Similar trends appear to be emerging in Europe, too. Accor CEO Sebastien Bazin told Bloomberg last week that summer bookings from Europe to the U.S. were 25% lower because of “anxiety to go in an unknown territory.”

For shopper Sanja, that has made visits to her Italian-Colombian husband’s family more difficult. But when asked whether she was avoiding U.S. travel in the current climate, she was unequivocal.

“Hell yeah. Even when we go to Colombia, we’ll travel around it [the U.S.],” said Sanja. “I have two young kids, it’s not worth it.”