Should we boycott America and American products?

All any ordinary person can do is to take small steps and hope that others follow.

The global economy has evolved to such an extent that, short of going to live in the woods, we cannot help but be part of it. I may loathe the way that the water industry has evolved to prioritise shareholders but I still need it to supply me with fresh water and deal with my waste.

It’s easy to not use many of the brands you name. Nobody needs Meta or Musk apps or fast food outlets or streaming channels.

But many services now are digital by default so, unless we are to self-exclude we do need some form of digital device and the ability to buy essential goods when local supply isn’t an option.

I shall carry on buying products which I like as usual, regardless of whether they come from the US, and using Amazon. Listening to the ramblings and ridiculous, dangerous comments of Trump, Vance, Musk et al is bad enough without cutting off my nose to spite my face, and maybe punishing American producers who are not Trump supporters. I have no plans to visit the US again in the near future, but if I had family there I certainly wouldn’t refuse to go simply because of Trump.

I suppose we could boycott Facebook, Whattsapp, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, KFC, Twitter/X (especially) Netflix, Disney, MGM and all the other US companies

We won’t will we!.

All is not lost for beans lovers. Red beans those that you add to chilly can come from somewhere NOT the usa.

Checking my store cupboard I found that the French brand D’aucy clearly marked on the tin Cultivés en France
Translates as grown in France.

Check the choices on the shelves at your local supermarket.

Yes Allira organic almonds from a small farm are unlikely to be grown by big business, Trump supporters.
We are in danger of hurting those we want to help.

products from usa is not trumps
venders cant control the idiot

he will keep mcds up any running and the fake tan companys

This is a disappointment.
I was going to buy Heinz Beans to day but did not thinking I should find out where the beans come from.
From Google
“Using haricot beans, Heinz rehydrates the legumes that are grown in North America. A secret mixture of spices is added to the can, before machine distributes the sauce. The beans are then steamed with the sauce inside the sealed can to preserve their nutrients.”

So no more Heinz beans for me.

petra

Churchview

Totally agree Casdon. I busy finding alternatives.

Well at least one of the above facts is wrong.
Jaguar landrover are owned by Tata an Indian company based in Mumbai.

Jaguar are indeed owned by Tata.

I have a six year old Jaguar E Pace. It was made in Austria.

Churchview

Totally agree Casdon. I busy finding alternatives.

Well at least one of the above facts is wrong.
Jaguar landrover are owned by Tata an Indian company based in Mumbai.

It’s the only sanction we have within our power though Allira, so if that does happen, although I’m sorry for the small farmers, their issue is actually with Trump rather than those who boycott American goods.

Grammaretto

Me too casdon and I buy more than half my food in our community shop which is fairtrade, organic, local, home grown etc

I am sorry about almonds though, they all seem to come from the USA.

I try to buy French or NZ wine from places close to my heart.

The problem is, by boycotting foods such as almonds and California prunes, it could damage small farmers whose farms may have been in the families for generations.

The big boys who are supporting Trump will be unaffected by this kind of boycott.

You would really need time on your hands and dedication to the cause to find out and avoid buying from US owned companies when you do your shopping.
So to answer the OP, there is no ‘should’ about it, just up to the individual person.

Hard to work out where they come from! medicines are going both ways

"In 2023, the UK's main sources of pharmaceutical imports were the United States, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, and Belgium.

The UK's main destinations for pharmaceutical exports were the United States, Germany, Ireland, France, and China.

Grammaretto

OK so there are plenty of American owned British companies.
I don't think anything mentioned so far would be anything I'd buy, except maybe chocolate 🤔

Medication is the big one!

Along with DH and myself I’m sure there’s many of us in here who cannot give up their meds!

Churchview

Oreo

Am not sure that I would boycott anything from the US even if I did buy a product unknowingly from there.DT won’t be in position longer than a few years and why hurt US business even if we could?Not that buying a packet of biscuits now and then helps them all that much in my case.

Trump and his supporters (see Steve Bannon at CPAC) are already putting the idea of re-election out there...Trump portraying himself as King. Even if he's only in his post for a few years just think of what chaos he can cause.

Old man Trump also said during the campaign
“Vote for me this time and you will never need to vote again”

Dont laugh at this man, he means everything he says.

Me too casdon and I buy more than half my food in our community shop which is fairtrade, organic, local, home grown etc

I am sorry about almonds though, they all seem to come from the USA.

I try to buy French or NZ wine from places close to my heart.

Grammaretto

We used to try to boycott SA goods during apartheid. Did it change anything?

Is SA an apartheid state now? No.

I think that international disapproval (especially cutting sporting links) did help.

'No'. Obviously not!

I use Meridian peanut butter, which is made in the UK and owned by a Northern Irish company. I swapped over ages ago, because it’s one of the few that doesn’t contain palm oil, so it’s a bonus it’s made here.

Buy Australian wine, much better than the American stuff anyway. I didn’t know Heinz was American, though I don’t buy Heinz, more Rosella. Hope that’s not American but probably not. I thought Cadburys were British, that’s a shame they are not.

It's interesting to discover how many products on UK supermarket shelves come from the USA.
Kraft products as already mentioned are widely available and include
Amoy Soy Sauce
HP Sauces and Daddies sauce
Lee and Perrins Worcestershire sauce
Heinz ketchup, salad cream, baby food and soups.
Here in Canada I've stopped buying US oranges, marmalade and peanut butter. and no more Toblerone chocolate for my son-in-law either. We stopped buying Cadbury's chocolate when the US took it over because the quality went down.
I looked up Skippy and Jif peanut butters which I believe are sold in the UK and discovered Skippy is made in the US and in China. Jif made in the US.

Churchview

Morrisons
Hotel Chocolat
Jaguar
Aston Martin
Cadburys
Kenco coffee
Philadelphia cheese
Dairylea cheese
Terry's chocolates
Maxwell House coffee
Toblerone
Bird's desserts
Suchard chocolates

All owned by American companies. This is an interesting article which shockingly says that 25% of British GDP is made up of sales of 1,256 US multinationals operating in Britain.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/29/britain-great-again-stop-flogging-our-top-companies-to-the-us

Ford sold Jaguar to TaTa in 2008 . They are an Indian company . The cars are still made in Coventry in England . Only problem is they are heading more to an ultra luxury product with prices over 100, 000 .

J52

The list of Kraft Heinz products is very long, it includes many labels that we wouldn’t associate with them. Milka and Toblerone chocolate to name a couple.
The full list is available on the Internet. Difficult to avoid when shopping.

It is difficult to avoid Kraft products.

When Kraft took over Cadburys and shut down the Bristol factory many (including me) vowed never to buy Cadbury's products again. I don't but I have been given them.
Has it made a difference? I don't think so.

Individually it may not make a difference, but if enough people avoid American goods it may hopefully have some effect.
I have an American pen pal but I shan't boycott her because she detests Trump and his cronies. It's interesting hearing about all this from someone who lives there.

There is a big movement to do this, people in Canada, Mexico, Denmark, and other countries in Europe are all thinking along the same lines. I’ve just read that the Dow Jones is dropping considerably too, because of loss of consumer confidence in the US itself. I think it will make a difference, because money is what drives Trump et al - and it is one of the very few things that we as individuals actually can do at the moment.