Amazon pushed back against a news report on Tuesday, claiming it planned to visibly break down the costs of former President Donald Trump’s newly implemented tariffs on its product listings. The rebuttal came after the White House harshly criticized the online retail giant, and Trump personally reached out to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos over the matter.
The controversy was sparked by a report from PunchBowl News, which cited an anonymous source alleging that Amazon intended to start showing what portion of a product’s price was tied to the steep tariffs introduced by Trump earlier in the month. Amazon, along with many major retailers, has been critical of the sweeping tariffs Trump introduced at the start of April. The administration’s new tariff on Chinese imports stands at 145%, a dramatic increase that economists warn could lead to higher prices for American consumers.
According to a senior White House official, Trump responded to the report by calling Bezos directly to express his disapproval; with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stating during a briefing with journalists on Tuesday: “I just spoke with the president about Amazon’s supposed move. This is clearly a hostile, politically motivated step by the company.” Leavitt also suggested that the move was ideologically motivated and accused Amazon of aligning with Chinese state interests, citing a 2021 Reuters article which reported that Amazon had blocked customer reviews of a book authored by Chinese President Xi Jinping on its Chinese platform in compliance with government demands: “Why is Amazon taking this step now, especially when inflation under the Biden administration is at its highest point in four years?”
Amazon spokeswoman Rachael Lighty later clarified that no such policy was being enacted, stating that the idea had been briefly considered by a team managing Amazon Haul, a section of the site focused on deeply discounted products, but it was never authorized and will not be implemented: “The team overseeing our budget-friendly Amazon Haul storefront explored the concept of showing import-related costs on select items. However, the idea was never given the green light, and we have no plans to move forward with it.”
Bezos has engaged with Trump’s administration and met with the president on several occasions since his election. As the owner of The Washington Post, he broke with tradition in 2024 by choosing not to endorse a candidate in the presidential election—its first time doing so in over three decades. When asked about the nature of Trump’s current relationship with Bezos, Leavitt declined to comment. “I won’t be addressing the president’s personal ties to Jeff Bezos.”
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