Danish boycott app targeting US goods surges amid Greenland row
Danish shoppers are using the barcode-scanning tool, UdenUSA, to identify and boycott American goods, as tensions over Donald Trump’s threats to invade Greenland rise.
A 21-year-old Danish programmer, Jonas Pipper, created the UdenUSA app, which translates as “without USA,” after discovering a Facebook group calling for a boycott of the US.
UdenUSA quickly became the most downloaded app in Denmark, overtaking ChatGPT on the App Store, the Irish Times reports.
It allows users to scan goods to see their country of origin. If the scanned products are from the US, the app helps users find alternatives from other countries.
When users scan a product with their phone camera, they are displayed the message: “Now hacking into the Pentagon ... no, wait, don’t worry.”
Pipper says the app, currently available for iPhone only, wasn’t specifically designed to boycott US goods.
“We just create the opportunity to have more clarity [about product origin], and then it’s up to consumers what they want to do,” he said to DRpublic television.
However, the UdenUSA carries a strong political message, as its website asks in Danish, “Do you support Trump when you shop?”
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Only 1.2% of Danish food comes directly from the US, but many US trademarked products are manufactured under licence in Denmark.
The relationship between two historically close allies, the US and Denmark, has deteriorated since Trump repeatedly threatened to annex Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, by military force if the US could not buy it.
Denmark has recently deployed more troops in Greenland and said Danish soldiers would shoot back if invaded.
Opinion polls show the overwhelming majority of Greenlanders and Americans are opposed to the annexation of the island. Meanwhile, Trump claims the island is necessary to ensure the security of the US and protect the strategically located island from Russia and China.
After his speech at Davos, Trump seems to have stepped back – at least for now – from the annexation plan. However, the recent months of threats and belittling of allies are likely to have a long-term impact on the image of the US in Europe.
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