Three out of ten Swedes boycott American goods

Securing the country’s borders against millions of illegal immigrants, cutting down on bureaucracy, and urging Europe to take greater responsibility for its own security seems to be considered going too far by a large proportion of the Swedish population, leading them to boycott American goods.

Since Donald Trump took office as president, the Swedish state media has done its utmost to convey as dark a picture as possible of the new administration – just like in 2016. According to a new survey, a considerable portion of the Swedish population seems to have bought into this narrative.

29 percent of those surveyed say that they have refrained from buying American goods as a political protest in the past month. Ten percent do so entirely, and 19 percent only with certain products.

40 percent are considering abstaining from American products.

“Donald Trump’s many statements about Ukraine, European security policy, and tariffs in the past month are leaving clear marks on Swedish public opinion. Three out of ten Swedes have already started buying fewer American goods than before as a political protest. This shows a broad skepticism towards the USA among the Swedish public right now,” says Per Söderpalm, head of opinion at Verian, to public television.

Leftists most hostile towards the USA

The differences between the genders are small this time, but older people between 65 and 84 are most likely to boycott American goods. However, there are significant political differences – 40 percent of Left Party voters and 36 percent of Social Democratic Party voters have chosen to boycott goods from the USA, while 23 percent of Sweden Democrats voters are boycotting.

On Facebook – an American platform – there is a group with over 75,000 members urging a boycott of everything American.

The group has emerged from the frustration that we, and many others, feel about the world becoming a significantly more insecure and unpredictable place since January 20, 2025.