Trump's White House blames Amazon for 'hostile and political act' on tariff pricing

Amazon is disputing a report that the e-commerce giant was planning to display how much tariffs were raising prices for products on its online storefront, after the White House criticized the reported plan.

In a statement, a company spokesperson told the Washington Post (which is also owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos), that staff had considered listing "import charges on certain products" in the Amazon Haul low-cost store. But they stressed nothing has been implemented and it was never considered on its main storefront.

Amazon Haul is the company's answer to drop-shipping sites such as Temu and Shein, which sell goods imported from China at low costs to American consumers. Amazon Haul's products are mainly priced at or below $20.

“The team that runs our ultra low cost Amazon Haul store has considered listing import charges on certain products," Amazon said in a statement to the Washington Post. "This was never a consideration for the main Amazon site and nothing has been implemented on any Amazon properties.”

The statement was in response to reporting by Punchbowl News that the world's largest consumer online retailer planned to display tariff pricing on products offered through its website.

Punchbowl News cited an unnamed person familiar with the plan in their reporting. According to the report, Amazon planned to show a breakdown of how much of an item's cost has gone up due to tariffs.

When asked about Amazon's reported plan during a Tuesday morning briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt condemned the company for what she called a "hostile and political act" against the Trump administration.

"Why didn't Amazon do this when the Biden Administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?" Leavitt said during the Tuesday press briefing on Trump's 100th day in office.

Leavitt suggested at Tuesday’s briefing with reporters that such transparency is un-American, saying “Amazon has partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm.”

She also confirmed that she had spoken with Trump shortly before the briefing, and that he was aware of the report.

The Tuesday back-and-forth about Amazon's plans is the latest development related to tariff actions taken in recent weeks by President Donald Trump, which have already caused uncertainty in the stock market and incited fears of a prolonged trade war with China.

Earlier this month, Trump laid out tariff numbers on nearly every country the U.S. does trade with. Despite calling them "reciprocal tariffs," the import taxes didn't appear to target those who had tariffs on U.S. goods. Instead, the taxes were placed on everybody from major U.S. allies in Europe to an island with a population of 0.

Eventually, after days of market turmoil, Trump announced a 90-day pause on most of the tariffs to negotiate with various countries.

But one he didn't rescind was an increase in prices on Chinese goods. China, in turn, responded with its own additional tariffs on American imports.

Currently, the U.S. has a 145% tariff on Chinese imports, while China has a 125% tariff on American goods.

Analysts fear that the ongoing trade war could have massive consequences for consumers in the U.S., as China is the country's largest trading partner and the world's second-largest economy.

Already, some major ports say they're forecasting less traffic from cargo ships, which are the main vehicle for transporting goods into the U.S.

https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/amazon-tariff-price-display-white-house-response/507-f4b527c4-8717-4a1f-a60d-4e2b1756c599