European households are prepared to do without American brands, which have become emblematic of Trumpism. This is the lesson from a European Central Bank study, published on Wednesday, April 30, on its blog. Based on a survey conducted in March, where respondents were presented with various scenarios of tax increases, the authors highlight that European consumers are "very willing to actively move away from US products and services." Above all, contrary to the rules of price elasticity – where the higher wages rise, the less sensitive their beneficiaries are to price variations – this time, the wealthier individuals are, the more they want to refrain from buying American.
This is new. Europe is not prone to boycotts, unlike the Middle East, for example, where Starbucks and Coca-Cola are still recovering from a backlash linked to US support for Israel. On Thursday, McDonald's CEO, Chris Kempczinski, said that the fast-food chain's global consumer surveys had detected a rise in anti-American sentiment, notably in Canada – which is not surprising given Trump's direct attacks – but also in Northern Europe, where Denmark is also feeling the US president's envy through his designs on Greenland.
How far will this shunning of all things American go? Already, European tourists are shunning the US. Tesla sales are plummeting. In April, the brand's registrations collapsed by 59% in France compared to the same month in 2024, according to figures released on Thursday, by the automotive platform, while the French car market declined by 5.6%. In the first four months of 2025, Tesla sales dropped by 44%, in a market down by 7.3%.
While the ongoing renewal of the range may have caused some hesitation, the active role of Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of Tesla, alongside Trump largely explains this disenchantment. Hasbro popularized transformable robot toys into cars. Musk, meanwhile, has turned an electric sedan into a political driving object. It remains to be seen how sales of other American flagship models will fare.
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.