They sure can, but its unlikely to achieve very much. Now, if a whole bunch of countries got together to do it AND they were willing to endure the enormous financial cost that comes with it, that might actually do something.
this post was submitted on 05 Jan 2026
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Sure. But that quickly turns into
No Microsoft, google, or Apple. No GitHub, Intel, or AMD. No Facebook or Netflix, Disney, etc.
It is nearly impossible to escape financial involvement with USA companies, and it’s why countries under sanctions from USA are not wealthy.
Not selling me on those downsides. Sounds like a much better world without those.
Get the EU and Canada on chip manufacturing and remove the American anti circumvention laws and get the hackers on jailbreaking their tech.
https://media.ccc.de/v/39c3-a-post-american-enshittification-resistant-internet#t=1045
Living without American software would be fine IMO. American silicon is much harder to replace though.
Not selling me on those downsides. Sounds like a much better world without those.
Try selling this idea to the rest of your country's population.
Canada is already working on cutting American ties and strengthening relations with the EU. Local stores have drastically changed their stock since Canadian citizens stop buying American groceries. Now that Trump bombed Venezuela it’s only going to accelerate the process.
Kind of funny how you said that to no Google, then posted a YouTube link.
It’s for the stupid normies that refuse to click on other websites.
Here is the original link: https://media.ccc.de/v/39c3-a-post-american-enshittification-resistant-internet#t=1045
But that's exactly the point. Losing those companies large portions of their customer base will have them quickly lobbying in your favor.
Corey Doctorow had a presentation this past week at the C3 hacker conference arguing that all our allies only agreed to be ruled by US tech hegemony in exchange for free trade agreements, and if they want a win-win solution to getting f'd, they should repeal their laws against jailbreaking US tech.
Tech sovereignty is already (finally) an issue the rest of the world is waking up to. I hope they go much farther and faster.
This is why I'm rooting for Chinese IT to catch up. We need some fucking diversity and competition.
Why so you can embrace their level of surveillance? It's why we didn't want Huawei devices.
Surveillance is coming whether you want it or not...
At UN level, it will be pretty much impossible to sanction the US. They'll just veto everything away. Either by procedure or behind the scenes diplomacy.
It is also debatable if UN level sanctions are that effective in 2026. North Korea kept finding creative ways to get around them.
And these days, WGAF about international law anyways? International law, shminternational law. Sorry, I'm busy. I'm off to abduct another dictator on trumped up charges and then run his country.
The EU resorted to counter-tariff the US where it hurts the financial contributors to 47 and his bootlickers the most. Harleys, jeans, and whisky were the first package, I think. I believe this is the only viable way to exert pressure. In 2026 that means playing hardball around the hardware for all this so-called AI stuff, somehow weening people off of US controled internet services, and not buying weapons from the US - just a few examples.
Counter tariffs are a shot to the feet.
I like the proposal of Mr. Doctorow more. Legalize reverse engineering and anti-DRM circumventing. Reduce copyright to 25 years tops and don’t recognise software patents at all.
Good for the local industry, bad for American tech.
Win-win
I don't disagree with those ideas. Corey has been beating this drum for a while. I'm just afraid this is putting the cart before the horse. Europe and in particular the governments need to get off of the US clouds or they will quickly find themselves up shit cloud (creek) without a parachute (paddle). And I fear building up viable domestic competition will be harder if you reshape the market that drastically next week. But I'm onboard with it in general.
Effectively no. China could stop selling to the US but it really needs the demand to fuel its growth and they dont really care about US actions around the world since they directly benefit from people souring on the US.
Countries dont so things for moral reasons and its in no countries interest to sanction the US over fucking maduro.
China has sanctions on several US companies.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/dec/17/europe-donald-trump-ai-bubble-us-economy-eu
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-trade-bazooka-anti-coercion-instrument-donald-trump-tariffs/
They can but some members like Hungary are actively fighting against EU, others like Germany only care about their GDP.
China have done so a couple of times already, responding to the US putting sanctions on them. That's what the "rare earth" stuff on the news is about.
Large countries tend to not respond to sanctions the same way than smaller ones. With enough people interested, there are many ways to evade sanctions, and a dynamic economy can always adapt and use different products or services.
Are those sanctions or tariffs you're talking about? Tariffs and sanctions are two different things
Do you WANT World War 3? Cause that's how you get WW3.
For what it's worth I'm not real fond of living in one of the villains.
I’ll admit that I don’t really know how that works, or how it’s enforced, or whatever
They almost always mean "economic sanctions".
Cutting them off from "western banking"...
Essentially not letting them buy/sell any stocks in the western market.
Which unfortunately is headquartered in NYC, explaining why it's the NY Stock Exchange.
There are others, Europe has 5 worth over a trillion each and some others, Asia has the NICA index. But the American NYSE is worth over 25 trillion. It's the big one.
But trump personally would be very hard to sanction in other markets, because he's so shady banking institutions usually won't deal with him. It's why he pivoted to crypto.
He does have some money in NYSE, but that's overseen by the SEC, and trump won't sanction himself.
Ironically what we'd see is tarrifs. America doesn't make shit, and can't afford to buy a lot of stuff now. So other big buyers can pressure the "producer countries" into marking up anything that goes in/out of America.
Can? Sure.
For lots of European countries it's either the US or Russia. We stop kissing Yank ass, and Russia will beat ours.
The US is the largest consumer in the world. So sure they can.
Do you think that would alter US policy at all?
If it had an effect it would piss the fascists in office off, and policy would definitely change to something.
If is the longest two letter word in the English Language.
That is the equivalent of stepping on an elephant's foot. Negligible
not if it comes from China or india, or the EU as a whole