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| International |
| UK, US firms to be hit by French boycott |
| 2003-04-22 |
| Somewhat OT, Fred. Britain could lose many millions of pounds worth of business in France because of a possible consumer boycott prompted by the Iraq war, according to a new poll. More than one in 10 French consumers are less likely to buy British as a result of Prime Minister Tony Blair's hardline stance, the poll suggests. Only 1 in 100 French are more likely to buy British because of the war, according to the survey by PR company Weber Shandwick, which also revealed anti-British sentiment in Germany. The survey found that 10 per cent of German consumers said they were less likely to buy British - although this was balanced by seven per cent who said they were more likely. According to Government figures, the UK exported goods worth just over £18 billion to France and over £21 billion to Germany in 2002. US companies could be hit even harder than those from the UK, the survey conducted between April 11 and April 13 - after the last phase of the war - indicates. The survey revealed that 17 per cent of French people surveyed said they were less likely to buy American, balanced by four per cent who said they were more likely. Interviews with British consumers found 11 per cent claiming to be less likely to buy American, compared with four per cent claiming to be more likely. In Germany, 13 per cent said they were less likely to buy American, against nine per cent who said they were more likely. Colin Byrne, joint chief executive of Weber Shandwick in the UK, said: "In France and Germany, it may well be that the anti-war stance of political leaders and mainstream media has filtered down to consumers. British opinion is less hostile [sic!!!] to the war, but what's striking is that in general terms British consumers seem to have become politicised. "Of the three countries we examined, the British are far more likely to consider leveraging their purchasing power to make a point about an issue that concerns them." |
| Posted by:Bulldog |
| #12 If I remember France has substaintal tariffs on American farm products(seems frog farmers can't compete in both quality or quantity.Wonder why?)French gov. also heavily subsidize Frog Farms. Guess people haven't noticed but we've been in a trade war for years. |
| Posted by: raptor 2003-04-23 07:50:04 |
| #11 dangle a pair of levi's in front of any German and his boycott is out the window. The Britts should start putting large Union Jacks on the packaging of things sent to the US, they'd increase sales. |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-04-22 14:36:55 |
| #10 I wish you could have read the (very well known) German writer Hans Magnus Enzensberger in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Saturday. It's about the best comment about the German "we-have-the-moral-high-ground" peace movement I have ever read. He slammed the "rhetoric of appeasement, as if Germans had never lived under a totalitarian regime". Enzensberger expresses "triumphal joy" over the swift US victory in Iraq and the toppling of the dictator. I can only agree full heartedly. Here is an English excerpt I could find on the web: "Writing in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (subscription required), Enzensberger fired some heavy ordnance in the direction of the peace movement, which depicted President Bush as the dictator of the piece and uttered neither a word about the sufferings of the Iraqis under Saddam nor a syllable about their recent liberation. Enzensberger writes: "It is not the first disgrace of those who warn and remind; not for the first time have the worry lines, which furrow the German brow, proven to be precipitous. It is not so long ago that East Germany was regarded here as unshakeable; it was seen as one of the most successful industrial nations of the world; the social democracy did everything to co-operate with the SED [the East German communist regime]; Poland's Solidarity movement was, as a result, treated as a dangerous troublemaker. Stability was everything; the Soviet Union was an invincible colossus, which only the Americans and other cold warriors provoked, while the heroic besiegers of Mutlangen [an American military depot] dared challenge the provocative rearmament of the United States. It was astounding, and for many leftists, especially awkward, that the colossus stood on feet of clay." I think more and more Germans wake up to find out that they've been in bad company. The left has tried to exploit the genuine anti war feeling in Germany and turn it into Anti Americanism (which will not stand). I'm absolutely convinced that with the return of a decent government in Germany more people will rub their eyes. Maybe this war was started for reasons that weren't explained well enough but the results can only be applauded. Unfortunately Schroeder hasn't learned a thing. Yet. |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2003-04-22 13:11:45 |
| #9 I think the "German Street" has remained fairly US friendly, and that the average German tends to think like "us" in many ways. We shouldn't extrapolate too much from their Government's quibbles with our Iraq policy... after all, we didn't want them thinking that WE were all like Clinton. The Krauts are good, solid people, but they are facing a whole different set of concerns than we are. The Frogs, on the other hand, never change (i.e., improve). They're not gonna boycott squat, either. A poll question like this lets them vent, but they rarely follow up with actions. Thank god Scotland was with us... there are things in life for which there are no substitutes. |
| Posted by: Mark IV 2003-04-22 12:51:32 |
| #8 Its pretty simple economics to me. France is a country of about 60 million. America is about 290 million. Who do you think means more to the world economy? If America boycotts France - it will really hurt France but France boycotting America will not hurt that bad. Wine and cheese versus real cars and beer? Give me a break. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2003-04-22 12:45:01 |
| #7 As if they were buying American before? |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-04-22 12:31:28 |
| #6 Gewurztraminer good, White Burgundy bad. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2003-04-22 11:33:12 |
| #5 "In Germany, 13 per cent said they were less likely to buy American, against nine per cent who said they were more likely. " Confirms a big difference between Germany and France. While I may disagree with TGA from time to time, i think Germany is slowly coming back to friendship - we should encourage this, and not push them to hard. France and Russia cannot maintain the AOW without Germany. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-04-22 10:55:09 |
| #4 Mitchell spinning reel. Check. I'm ready for the boycott. They make anything else useful? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-04-22 10:31:24 |
| #3 Why is it that all the so-called international experts on the 24/7 news channels keep telling us to simmer down when it comes to France and Germany, even when it's quite obvious from stories like this that they don't feel the same way at all. And they're the ones who screwed us. |
| Posted by: g wiz 2003-04-22 08:36:48 |
| #2 I've got a "Boycott France" sticker in my back window, and every once-in-a-while I'll get a honk, and a F@%k France! Man, there'e a whole-lotta frogs over there that I wish would croak. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2003-04-22 07:50:22 |
| #1 Bring it on Frogboy! Gonna boycott American and British-made personal hygiene products? heh heh This will do even more to ensure a drop in Americans traveling to France , buying French products, and tolerating snooty little waiters |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-04-22 07:17:04 |