War's Fallout

No risk - yet - of boycotts

Has the U.S. decision to pursue military action against Saddam Hussein and remove the Iraqi regime by force put American corporations at risk for retaliations or boycotts?

Certainly, the war is unpopular around the world. Outside of Israel and the U.S., it is hard to find any poll from any nation where a majority endorses the war (although support for the war is rising in U.K., along with support for British Prime Minister Tony Blair).

The war's unpopularity was clearly predicted in results from our pre-war survey in the Group of 7 countries, plus Spain and Russia (representing our new G-9 Power Survey). Interviews were conducted in late February through March 8, less than two weeks before the start of hostilities.

In six of the nine nations, more adults said their country should distance itself in its foreign policy from the U.S. than said their country's policies should seek closer coordination with the U.S.

Only Germany - where some fear Germany's chancellor has gone too far in criticizing U.S. policies (Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's anti-American campaign saved him from certain electoral defeat last year) - and Italy are split on the question.

U.S. citizens, of course, would like to see the world rally 'round the red, white and blue.

Among the public in the war allied countries of Spain and U.K. - as well as among the public in France, Canada, Russia and Japan - the plurality or majority favored more distance from the U.S.

Should Your Country's Government Get Closer to the U.S. or Distance Itself More?

Does that mean world consumers are ready to boycott U.S. products? Not likely, certainly not yet. Many consumers in our G-9 Power poll do say they avoid U.S. products. There likely are, however, several reasons for this: they may perceive U.S. products as expensive or shoddy, or they may prefer products from their own country. The fact that only 13% to 29% of consumers in the eight countries outside Russia said they are even somewhat likely to avoid U.S. products suggests that there is little or no anti-American consumer boycott element at work.

Avoiding American Products

For each statement I read, tell me whether your agree or disagree and how strongly you feel about that, using a 0-to-10 scale, where 10 means you strongly agree and 0 means you strongly disagree. You can use any number from 0 to 10, depending on how strongly you feel : I currently avoid U.S. products and services