Europe looks to step back from U.S. Big Tech

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report Episode Summary

Episode Title: Europe looks to step back from U.S. Big Tech
Host: Nancy Marshall Genser (in for David Brancaccio)
Air Date: March 16, 2026

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Episode Overview

This concise Marketplace Morning Report episode explores the latest U.S. economic policy developments, shifts in consumer behavior around “Buy Now Pay Later” (BNPL) products, and Europe’s intensifying move for digital sovereignty—specifically, the region’s efforts to reduce reliance on U.S. Big Tech. The episode brings timely analysis from economists and tech experts, with notable examples from Europe’s adoption of homegrown tech alternatives.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Federal Reserve Outlook (01:01–02:36)

• Economic Update:
  The Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting on interest rates is set to begin. The most recent economic data showed that U.S. GDP growth in Q4 2025 was halved—a potential signal for policy change.
• Fed’s Focus Shifts:
  The Fed is now concentrating more on future risks, especially an oil shock and global instability, rather than backward-looking data.
• Interest Rate Expectations:
  Julia Coronado, founder of Macro Policy Perspectives, predicts a “wait and see” approach with no imminent rate cuts.

  “The Fed is going to be sounding a calm tone...they’re going to wait and see and gather more information.”
  — Julia Coronado [01:42]

• Conflicting Mandates:
  The Fed faces high inflation (expected to climb with rising oil prices) and a labor market that appears “wobbly but okay.”

Consumer Credit & “Buy Now Pay Later” Surges Post Home Purchase (02:36–04:41)

• BNPL’s Mainstream Rise:
  More Americans—including homebuyers—are using BNPL services, which have become integrated into digital wallets and retail checkout options.

  “BNPL isn’t just 18-year-olds who’ve never had a credit card. It’s really come into the mainstream.”
  — Ed Dehan, Stanford Graduate School of Business [03:53]

• Credit Behavior Trends:
  JP Morgan Chase Institute president Chris Wheat notes that frequent BNPL users lower their credit card balances prior to home buying but sharply increase BNPL use after purchase due to new expenses (furniture, appliances).
• Associated Risks:
  First-time homebuyers frequently using BNPL are over 8% more likely to miss a payment within a year than those using other payment methods.

Europe’s Push for Digital Sovereignty (05:42–08:28)

Background & Motivations:

• Security Concerns:
  European governments fear a possible “kill switch” scenario—if U.S. authorities restrict access to tech platforms, as happened when International Criminal Court officials were sanctioned and lost access to U.S.-based emails.
• Policy Actions:
  France has adopted Vizio, a fully French open-source video tool, to replace Zoom for government use.

  “We’re rolling out Vizio with the 100% French video conferencing tool to all government employees.”
  — Cited from David Amiel’s announcement [06:19]

Structural Shifts:

• Moving from U.S. Platforms:
  European institutions are seeking alternatives to dominant providers such as Zoom and Amazon Web Services (AWS), including open-source solutions like Percona databases.

  “There’s been a kind of realization in Europe that Europe’s reliance on U.S. tech platforms is a geopolitical vulnerability.”
  — Nick Rayners, Eurasia Group [06:34]

• Open Source Advantages:
  Using open-source software means governments maintain access even if a U.S. company must withdraw services due to sanctions or political pressure.

  “The advantage of having the open source software is you have choice; you’re not locked in...”
  — Peter Zaitsev, Percona co-founder [07:23]

Ongoing Debates:

• Efficacy vs. Cost:
  Open-source solutions sometimes lag behind proprietary Big Tech in features, raising questions about the efficiency and cost of “sovereign” digital transitions.

  “That’s the multi-billion dollar question, really... US tech companies would tell you that this is a kind of absurd thing to be worried about.”
  — Nick Rayners [07:48]

• Uncertainty of U.S. Policy:
  Despite safeguards, true independence from U.S. political decisions is hard to guarantee:

  “The truth is it’s impossible to say. We live in crazy times.”
  — Nick Rayners [08:03]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Federal Reserve’s Stance:
  “No interest rate cut this week probably and none anytime soon.”
  — Julia Coronado [02:09]

• On Digital Vulnerabilities:
  “It’s almost comparable to Europe’s reliance on Russian gas before the Ukraine war kicked off.”
  — Nick Rayners [06:47]

• On Digital Sovereignty Initiatives:
  “Open source software still does often lag behind big tech. So are these massive governmental tech overhauls an overreaction, creating a lot of cost and inconvenience?”
  — Elizabeth Hodson [07:36]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Fed Outlook & Rate Policy: 01:01–02:36
• BNPL & Homebuyer Trends: 02:36–04:41
• EU Digital Sovereignty / Tech Independence: 05:42–08:28

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Conclusion

This episode reviews key business and economic issues for listeners starting their day. Main themes include the Fed’s caution in uncertain global conditions, the mainstreaming (and risks) of “Buy Now Pay Later,” and the European drive to loosen U.S. Big Tech’s grip to protect sovereignty in a volatile world. With sharp, timely reporting and expert insight, it offers a snapshot of significant policy and consumer shifts on both sides of the Atlantic.

Transcript

[David Brancaccio]

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[Julia Coronado]

what

[Nancy Marshall Genser]

is Jay Powell thinking now? From Marketplace, I'm Nancy Marshall Genser in for David Boncaccio. The Federal Reserve's two day meeting on interest rates starts tomorrow. So let's take a look at some key economic data we got last week and what it could mean for the path of rates. For more we're joined by Julia Coronado. She's founder and president of Macro Policy Perspectives and a professor at the University of Texas, Austin. Good morning, Julia.

[Julia Coronado]

Good morning.

[Nancy Marshall Genser]

So last week we got the official government estimate of how fast the economy grew in the last three months of 2025, fourth quarter growth was cut in half. How significant will that be for the Fed?

[Julia Coronado]

Well, right now that is looking in the rear view mirror. And so in a moment where we have a big shock in the form of an oil shock and an uncertain war, it will be more important for the Fed to look forward. And even then it's an uncertain outlook. So I think the Fed is going to be sounding a calm tone and saying that they're going to wait and see and gather more information.

[Nancy Marshall Genser]

Okay, so no interest rate cut this

[Julia Coronado]

week probably and none anytime soon. The Fed is still looking at conflicting tensions with still high inflation that's going to go higher with oil prices and that's one of their mandates. But also an economy that's okay, but certainly not booming. A labor market that looks a little wobbly but okay. You know, these are competing influences on interest rates. And so for now it's a wait and see.

[Nancy Marshall Genser]

Julia Coronado, founder and president of Macro Policy Perspectives Buy Now Pay later products are now a common way for Americans to buy things, and recent data out from the JP Morgan Chase Institute found that these services are becoming increasingly important during and after the home Buying Marketplace's Kimberly Adams has more Owning a home

[Kimberly Adams]

is the American dream, right? So people tend to try to get their credit in order before they do it, right?

[Various Experts (Chris Wheat, Rohit Chopra, Ed Dehan, Nick Rayners, Peter Zaitsev)]

Before especially frequent users of BNPL Buy a Home, we see their credit card balances come down by like 12, 13%, something like that.

[Kimberly Adams]

Chris Wheat is president of the JPMorgan Chase Institute.

[Various Experts (Chris Wheat, Rohit Chopra, Ed Dehan, Nick Rayners, Peter Zaitsev)]

And then after they buy a home, you see things like their BNPL usage really, really go up quite a bit more.

[Kimberly Adams]

That's because owning a home for the first time comes with lots of new expenses. Rohit Chopra is the former head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

[Julia Coronado]

We do see that people do borrow quite a bit when it comes to furnishing their home, and many sellers of appliances and furniture are now using Buy Now Pay later as a key way to pay.

[Kimberly Adams]

Ed Dehan, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, says this data reflects a larger trend.

[Various Experts (Chris Wheat, Rohit Chopra, Ed Dehan, Nick Rayners, Peter Zaitsev)]

BNPL isn't just 18 year olds who've never had a credit card. It's really come into the mainstream. And even people who can afford a house are now using BNPL as part

[Kimberly Adams / Advertiser]

of their digital wallets.

[Kimberly Adams]

And that comes with its own set of risks. According to JPMorgan Chase Institute's research, first time home buyers who are frequent users of Buy Now Pay later services have an over 8% higher chance of missing a payment within a year of their purchases compared to people who rely on other methods to cover their shopping. In Washington, I'm Kimberly Adams for Marketplace.

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[Nancy Marshall Genser]

and institutions are looking to reduce their reliance on US Big tech. They're worried there could come a day when America cuts off digital access to foreign institutions. We saw a version of this last year when several International Criminal Court officials got sanctioned and couldn't access things like their email. The BBC's Elizabeth Hodson reports on the push for so called digital sovereignty.

[Elizabeth Hodson]

At the start of February, senior French politician David Amiel announced on his X account that Zoom would be replaced by a French open source alternative called Vizio.

[David Brancaccio]

In case you missed it, we're rolling out vizio with the 100% French video

[Various Experts (Chris Wheat, Rohit Chopra, Ed Dehan, Nick Rayners, Peter Zaitsev)]

conferencing tool to all government employees.

[Elizabeth Hodson]

Nick Rayners, senior geotechnology analyst at the Eurasia Group, says geopolitical tensions are fuelling decisions like these.

[Various Experts (Chris Wheat, Rohit Chopra, Ed Dehan, Nick Rayners, Peter Zaitsev)]

There's been a kind of realization in Europe that Europe's reliance on US tech platforms is a geopolitical vulnerability. In a world where Donald Trump can threaten to invade Greenland or cut off satellite access to Ukraine. It's almost comparable to Europe's reliance on Russian gas before the Ukraine war kicked off.

[Elizabeth Hodson]

And it's against this backdrop that governments are turning to open source database alternatives to things like Amazon Web Services or aws. Percona is one of these. You can either just use their software for free or use the company or other companies to help manage your database. And crucially, you still have access to the open source software. If Percona, a US company is forced to withdraw services if it's affected by sanctions, for example. Peter Zaitsev is Percona's co founder.

[Various Experts (Chris Wheat, Rohit Chopra, Ed Dehan, Nick Rayners, Peter Zaitsev)]

The advantage of having the open source software is you have choice you don't have locked in where you are locked in the single provider.

[Elizabeth Hodson]

But open source software still does often lag behind big tech. So are these massive governmental tech overhauls an overreaction, creating a lot of cost and inconvenience? Here's Nick Rayners again.

[Various Experts (Chris Wheat, Rohit Chopra, Ed Dehan, Nick Rayners, Peter Zaitsev)]

That's the multi billion dollar question really. And certainly the US tech companies would tell you that this is a kind of absurd thing to be worried about. The kill switch scenario. Basically the scenario that Donald Trump could order all of Microsoft and Amazon servers to be switched off. The companies have put in place various measures to supposedly mitigate against this threat by putting their servers in Europe and managing them with European boards. The truth is it's impossible to say. We live in crazy times.

[Elizabeth Hodson]

And Nick points out that the theory and practice of a major digital transition can be very different. I'm the BBC's Elizabeth Hodson for Marketplace,

[Nancy Marshall Genser]

and in Washington, I'm Nancy Marshall Genser with the Marketplace Morning Report from apm, American Public Media.

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