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Amazon said it would not display costs associated with the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs on its website after the White House publicly lashed out at the company and the president made a personal call to Jeff Bezos.
Hours after a Punchbowl News report alleged Amazon would show the amount of money Trump’s aggressive tariff policy would add to the price of some of its products, the e-commerce giant issued a statement assuring people it was “not going to happen.”
“The team that runs our ultra low cost Amazon Haul store considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products. This was never approved and is not going to happen,” Tim Doyle, a spokesperson for Amazon, said.
The statement arrived shortly after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted Amazon’s reported decision as “a hostile and political act,” and an angry Trump called Bezos.
“Of course he was p*****,” an official familiar with Trump’s attitude toward the matter told CNN. “Why should a multibillion-dollar company pass off costs to consumers?”
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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Amazon was making a ‘hostile and political’ move by displaying the price increases as a result of tariffs on its website (AFP via Getty Images)
Trump’s anger about Amazon’s tariff transparency appeared to sway the company to abandon any consideration of the policy.
The president told reporters in the afternoon that Bezos “was very nice” and “solved the problem very quickly.”
“Good guy,” Trump said of the Amazon founder.
Trump has announced sweeping tariffs on every nation, with notably high rates on China, but paused them. Trump said the new levies are necessary to balance American competitiveness in the global economy. Experts have said, however, that his plan will lead to increased prices.
Leavitt claimed the news was “not a surprise” and pointed to a December 2021 Reuters report, which she described as “recently reported,” which said Amazon “partnered with a China propaganda arm”.
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Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he spoke with Bezos who ‘solved the problem very quickly’ (REUTERS)
“So this is another reason why Americans should buy American,” Leavitt added.
She questioned, “Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?”
Since winning the election in November, Bezos appeared to be cozying up to Trump, giving his inaugural fund $1m, attending Trump’s inauguration and re-directing the editorial section of The Washington Post to focus on defending personal liberties and free markets.
As recently as this week, Trump had touted that Bezos and other billionaire allies “have been great”.
The White House Press Secretary declined to comment on Bezos’s current relationship with Trump but maintained that the company’s decision was “hostile and political”.
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Bezos, the founder of Amazon, attended Trump’s inauguration in January, signaling the two had developed a friendlier relationship (POOL/AFP via Getty)
Amazon is among the large retailers bracing for the impact of tariffs. Trump’s 145 per cent tariffs on China are expected to hurt the independent retailers who rely on imports. Approximately 60 per cent of Amazon’s sales come from the smaller retailers.
Already, some sellers have backed out, or are reluctant to participate in, Amazon’s “Prime Day”, Reuters reported this week.
Trump has said he is in talks with China to ease some of the tariffs, but so far, no negotiations or announcement have been made.