> do they take it seriously or believe there is no alternative to US tech
There isn't, broadly speaking. Oh yeah, gonna use OpenEuroLLM? Have y'all made the ePhone yet or is that still stuck in committee?
Other countries will moan for a bit, no one likes having their free money and handouts taken away, then realize that US technology is still broadly the only option, and its actually quite good and even other US companies cant compete with US big tech with all of the free money here, let alone the tech-backward eurozone. Right now its the UK forcing Apple to remove Advanced Data Protection for UK citizens (not the eurozone, to be clear, but adjacent and culturally aligned)
The "boycotts" are great for headlines though (don't worry, Apple's revenue this year will be larger than ever, as always). If y'all don't want to buy Teslas though, I get that; I feel the same way.
Things won't happen overnight, but this is a big push for Europe to get its act together regarding tech. And if Europe can't manage it, there's also China. If the US becomes a dictatorship, then Europe might as well turn to Chinese tech, since they at least seem more stable and sane.
Oligarchical & oppressive dictatorships do tend to have some guise of stability; though whether that aligns with Europe's values more than American values depends most on how far Europe has fallen, and how much gaslighting they're willing to do to themselves and their people. I tend to believe Europe is better than that; as JD Vance said in Munich this week: If your democracy can be bought for a few hundred thousand in online ads, it must not have been very strong to begin with.
Europe also has the express disadvantage of having a rather combative and expansionist nation to their east, who is allied with China. It relies on the United States for something like 70% of aggregate defense spending in NATO. I think we'll see those numbers shift, I hope we do, but as you say: It won't happen overnight.
But sure; if you feel that the country which participates in the systematic forced labor imprisonment and forced organ harvesting of ethnic minorities is a better cultural ally than the United States, even considering what the United States has done recently... well, maybe JD Vance is right.
My hope is, genuinely, as you first say: Europe needs to get its act together and become more self-sufficient. That's been a major topic of Trump's, and it would ultimately benefit the world, most of all Europe.
Most stuff is. Even some people and companies in Europe had a hand in building it; at the very least I'm sure Apple has software teams there, and ASML is dutch.
We're a deeply interconnected world. Few parts of it can be self-sufficient while retaining the standard of living they're used to. This is true for no region more than Europe. Europe, broadly, relies more on the productivity, output, energy, and innovation of America and Asia for their standard of living than any other region, including America and Asia on each other or on Europe.
The iPhone is an interesting example because Apple's Asia sales did drop last quarter; but that drop was compensated for by a ~$3B increase in European sales. That's the trend I'd bet money on continuing. Europe doesn't have any other choice, and except on some fringe issues Europe's purported culture and values align far more with even Trump's America than China. Europe cannot afford to not pick a side in that adversarial relationship.
Tbh, Europeans broadly trying to boycott American companies gives real "toddler throwing a tantrum because his parents made him eat broccoli" vibes. At best, its unserious. At worst, its only going to harm Europe. Europe should make efforts toward reducing its dependence on the rest of the world, but their leadership is deeply unserious about doing so, and even if they became serious it would take many decades to reach even the only America or Asia is at.
For the sake of the conversation I wish europe would have more industrial success story like Airbus or Ariane.
And now it seems clear than the French doctrine on weapon production and energy is more valid than the English or German one.
There isn't, broadly speaking. Oh yeah, gonna use OpenEuroLLM? Have y'all made the ePhone yet or is that still stuck in committee?
Other countries will moan for a bit, no one likes having their free money and handouts taken away, then realize that US technology is still broadly the only option, and its actually quite good and even other US companies cant compete with US big tech with all of the free money here, let alone the tech-backward eurozone. Right now its the UK forcing Apple to remove Advanced Data Protection for UK citizens (not the eurozone, to be clear, but adjacent and culturally aligned)
The "boycotts" are great for headlines though (don't worry, Apple's revenue this year will be larger than ever, as always). If y'all don't want to buy Teslas though, I get that; I feel the same way.