I feel utter anger Move to boycott US spreads far

"I feel utter anger. I cannot go on with this feeling inside. I cannot just go and play a tour of beautiful concerts," he said, describing his horror at the authoritarian policies of Donald Trump.

- Peter Beaumont

The renowned German classical violinist Christian Tetzlaff was blunt in explaining why he and his quartet had cancelled a summer tour of the US.

Tetzlaff is not alone in acting on his disquiet. A growing international move to boycott the US is spreading from Scandinavia to Canada to the UK and beyond.

Most prominent so far has been the rejection by European car buyers of the Teslas produced by Elon Musk, now a prominent figure in Trump's administration. About 15% of the car company's value was wiped out on Monday alone.

In Canada, where the American national anthem has been booed during hockey matches with US teams, a slew of apps has emerged with names such as "buy beaver", "maple scan" and "is this Canadian" to allow shoppers to scan QR barcodes and reject US produce.

Figures by Statistics Canada released this week suggested the number of Canadians taking road trips to the US - representing the majority of Canadians who normally visit - had dropped by 23% compared with February 2024.

While Canada and Mexico have been at the frontline of Trump's trade war, the boycott movement is visible far beyond countries whose economies have been targeted.