Quarter of Belgians reduce purchases of US goods, poll shows

By Melike Pala

BRUSSELS (AA) - One in four Belgians has started buying fewer American products amid recent tensions with the US, according to a survey commissioned by AG Insurance.

The poll, conducted between Jan. 30 and Feb. 6 among 1,000 respondents across Belgium, found that 25.3% of participants said they had reduced their purchases of well-known US brands such as Coca-Cola, Oreo, and Nike, Belga news agency reported on Monday.

By contrast, 3.8% reported buying more American products.

The findings point to a regional divide.

In Dutch-speaking northern Belgium, 21.1% of respondents said they were purchasing fewer US brands, compared with 30.6% in the French-speaking south.

Investment behavior also appears to be shifting. Among respondents holding shares in American companies, 23.6% said they were investing less.

Meanwhile, 22.2% reported reducing their investments in US-based funds or exchange-traded funds, and 27.7% said they were cutting back on investments in the US dollar.

Nearly half of those surveyed, 44.5%, believe Belgian and European companies should scale back their investments in the US, while only 3.7% think such investments should increase.

The survey also underscored widespread concern about global developments. Some 88.7% of respondents said they were worried about recent international events.

The level of concern was higher in French-speaking Belgium, at 92.4%, compared with 85.9% among Dutch speakers. Only 2.3% said they were not concerned at all.