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by lukashoff 488 days ago
As an European I can confirm this is partly true. I wouldn't say it's completely destroyed it's soft power, but politically we do feel betrayed so whenever possible people would be looking to switch to non-US product. However, in business we're so intertwined with the US that it's hard to tell right now if there ever will be a justified switch.

In terms of pensions - I think 99.9% of us have a huge chunk the S&P, so even though we're upset I doubt there will be any movement on that front at all. Money will win in this battle.

Personally I do feel betrayed as well and for the first time in my life I've started looking for where the product I consume come from. About a third is from the US. Stopped buying them, found a European alternative.

To all the Europeans out here - let them live how they want over the pond, let's use this opportunity to promote our industries and products as well as become as independent as we possibly can given our current financial and political constraints.

No hard feelings at all, live and let live.

3 comments

European stocks are up and up since Trump was elected, while American stocks are chopping sideways or down. There's a shift in the stock market. The market hates uncertainty and America is a big frikkin question mark atm (is the polite way of saying it).

Here's a particular dutch pension fund that dropped their us stocks: https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/dutch-pension-fund-ab...

Could this be related to the geo-politics or just a usual dump of an overheated stock? Hard to tell without a tsunami of stock dumping and portfolio re-balancing
>> Personally I do feel betrayed as well and for the first time in my life I've started looking for where the product I consume come from.

Do you own anything made in China or have ever used oil and gas from Russia?

Why do you ask?
There’s really not a neutral position here that involves just ignoring what happens in the US, that is entirely wishful thinking but completely detached from actual geopolitical realities