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'Buying American' remains popular, but Democratic support wavers

'Buying American' remains popular, but Democratic support wavers

On the surface, consumer attitudes on buying American have remained steady — but the split between Republicans and Democrats has widened, according to the Ipsos Consumer Tracker.

02.18.25

The Ipsos Consumer Tracker asks Americans questions about culture, the economy and the forces that shape our lives. Here's one thing we learned this week.

Why we asked: With all the discussion of tariffs and making more things in the U.S. plus the potential rising costs of raw materials like Mexican denim and Canadian lumber, it seemed a good time to bring these questions back.

What we found: On the surface, not much changed. About six in ten people say that where the products they’re buying are made factors into their decisions often or sometimes, with Republicans being a bit more likely to say that. That’s unchanged since September 2023. But the split has widened by 10 points, with Democratic support dipping to 50% (Republicans steady at 75%). Similarly, we see high agreement (64%) and only a slight topline dip (down from 68%) in agreement that American products are better quality. But there’s a 15-point dip in Democratic support there, too.

There’s no easy narrative here, however. An increasing number of Democrats think that American-made products generally have a smaller supply chain that’s better for the environment. And an increasing number of Democrats say they like keeping money in their communities, but fewer say that they want to support American values with the purchases they make.

One more rub comes in the form of a new question we added this wave. While a majority (56%) say that they like buying American even if it costs more, Republicans were twice as likely (76% vs. 39%) to agree.

This is going to be another interesting consumer and business tension to keep an eye on.