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Bush World Opinion
US Iraq Policy Badly Damaging US Brands in Foreign Markets
Lester Brown of the Earth
Policy Institute says eight
of the ten leading
worldwide product
brands are American, and
more than half the sales
of each of these brands
are outside of the U.S. But
John Quelch, a Harvard
Business School
professor, is worried. "A
deepening opposition to
American foreign policy is
threatening the long-
term strength of these
brands."
The Financial Times says
some of the strongest US
consumer brands, like
Coca-Cola, McDonald's,
and Gap, are being hit
hard internationally,
and the acceptance of
other US brand products,
including Microsoft, Nike,
and Yahoo, is declining
across the board. Beyond
the name brands, the
economic fate of
thousands of U.S.
companies operating
internationally will be
affected.
Quelch concludes that,
"the cost [of the indirect
effect of the Iraq war] to
the American economy
could be far greater than
the cost of the war."
The International
Herald Tribune has
highlighted Europe's
dismay with the
Bush presidency.
"Judging from
opinion polls, media
reports and
conversation" [in
Europe]
"the overwhelming
sentiment on what
would be bad for
Europe is another
four years with
President George W.
Bush....[Western]
Europeans appear to
be united by an
overwhelming
antipathy toward
Bush." According to
Alain
Frachon, a senior
editor at Le Monde,
George Bush is the
least liked
US president since
World War II. On the
other hand,
Europeans are
optimistic about a
Kerry presidency. .
"The fact that Kerry
has an attitude in
which he feels he
wants to consult the
allies and is less
arrogant in his
relationship with
allies, puts him in a
much more positive
light here," said
Nathalie La Balme,
program officer at
the Paris office of
the German Marshall
Fund.
28-Oct-04
Bush World Opinion
27-Oct-04
Bush World Opinion