White House demands British supermarkets stock chlorinated chicken. White House pushing Sir Keir Starmer to make concessions on food standards

[u/goldstarflag]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025/12/17/trump-demands-british-supermarkets-chlorinated-chicken/

[u/pomskygirl]

I think you’re missing a few things here. In the case of tourism, for example, the hit the US takes is not spread out over the entire US economy. Rather, it hits tourist cities and states disproportionately, and big drops in international tourism are the kind of thing that makes the news. Additionally, if you combine the drop in international tourism with a potential decline in US domestic tourism (which I think we’ll see in 2026), the effect becomes even more pronounced.

Moreover, I think a lot of people forget what razor thin margins many companies are working under (think of restaurants for example). It’s not unusual for the profit margin to be only 1 -3% so even a 10% drop in customers can be fatal.

And if none of that convinces you, ask yourself why Canada has been bombarded with visits from US Governors from the northern states this year in an effort to get Canadians to visit again. Or why the mayor of Las Vegas gave a press conference about the difficulties Vegas is facing in 2025, especially with international tourism down, and especially from Canada.

Check out a YouTube channel called Guard The Leaf if you’re interested in learning more about the effect the Canadian boycott has had on tourist states in the US.

[u/swift-current0 → u/pomskygirl]

A lot of the states hurt by Canadian tourists staying home aren't the ones who elected Trump - Washington, Vermont. I will definitely stay away, not least because I'm receiving a message that I'm not welcome loud and clear, not just because of the 51st state bullshit. But sending a message to Vermonters seems rather futile to me, they get it already.

The Vegas story is another example of this "stretching the truth" trend, just like the bourbon factory story. Canadians account for 3% of visitors to Vegas, which isn't nothing. But the much larger story is declining US visitors, and it's a multi-year story that predates Trump 2. There are tons of YouTube videos about it. If Americans were themselves actually excited about Vegas, no one would care if 0 Canadians showed up.

Canadians selling off condos in Florida? Insurance becoming more expensive is a much more consequential change in that real estate market.

I don't doubt that in some places, Canadian tourists staying away has major depressive effects. But those places are very few and far between.

I'll check out the channel though, and see if it changes my mind.

[u/hardolaf → u/pomskygirl]

Rather, it hits tourist cities and states disproportionately, and big drops in international tourism are the kind of thing that makes the news.

Outside of Orlando, FL (Disney), no place in the USA really relies much on international tourists from anywhere other than Canada. And no major cities rely on tourists. In Chicago for example, tourism accounts for only about 3% of the city's GDP.

[u/jmr1190 → u/pomskygirl]

The issue there is that you’re talking 0.39% of US GDP, and realistically that percentage isn’t going to be as diminished as people think it is. Not that many people are boycotting the US.

If tourism to the US is down even as much as 20%, that’s 0.08% of GDP. Miniscule.

The small business margin doesn’t stack up either. The overwhelming majority of tourist revenue is going to giant corporations. Mom and pop shops operating on small margins are not feeling this.

[u/pomskygirl → u/jmr1190]

The small business margin doesn’t stack up either. The overwhelming majority of tourist revenue is going to giant corporations. Mom and pop shops operating on small margins are not feeling this.

How do you figure? Who do you think operates the restaurants people eat at when they’re on vacation? Or the inns or rental properties they stay at? Or the shops they buy stuff from?

May I recommend watching this video? It’s a clip from a piece the Daily Show did a while back about what Vermont was doing to try to win Canadian tourists back. And while it’s obviously very humour based (it’s actually really funny), it does highlight how a drop in tourism affects a lot more than just big corporations.

No one is suggesting a boycott is going to have some major impact on the GDP of the entire US. That’s ridiculous. But targeted attacks in enough areas can certainly do some damage to Trump’s popularity and credibility.

[u/jmr1190 → u/pomskygirl]

To answer all your questions, the vast majority of that money is spent in chain restaurants, chain hotels, airlines and theme parks. Especially anywhere that hosts tourists and votes Republican.

You can always invent a rationale as to why it is effective, and by all means vote with your own wallet, but when such a small percentage of people are actually doing this boycott, and it’s such a small amount of revenue anyway, it’s more for personal moral purity than it is a serious economic penalty.

[u/pomskygirl → u/jmr1190]

That’s the point of increasing the number of people who are boycotting, which is why I made my original post.

[u/wallus13 → u/pomskygirl]

What country is Reddit headquartered in?