After the White House criticized Amazon’s decision to display the cost of President Trump’s tariffs on its products, the internet giant claimed it did not plan to display this cost increase for consumers.
In a statement, the company said, “The team that runs our ultra low-cost Amazon Haul store has considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products,” adding, “Teams discuss ideas all the time. This was never a consideration for the main Amazon site, and nothing has been implemented on any Amazon properties.”
After the Trump administration learned of Amazon’s announcement to display the increased costs, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said this was a “hostile and political act”. During a White House briefing, she also told reporters, “Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?”
Later, Leavitt explained she had spoken with President Donald Trump about the announcement. She then criticized Amazon’s compliance with Chinese government censorship measures.
BREAKING: The White House completely loses it over Amazon announcing that they will put a “tariff price” next to every item they sell, depicting how much of the price of that good is the result of Trump’s tariffs.
Karoline Leavitt says “This is a hostile and political act by… pic.twitter.com/fzo0TpqQhN
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) April 29, 2025
The White House’s criticism of Amazon was felt in the stock market, as the tech giant’s shares dropped as much as 2.1% at the open of trading in New York. Despite the drop in stock value, Amazon is set to report earnings after markets close on Thursday. Its stock, however, has been down more than 20% since February’s record high value.
When asked whether Amazon’s decision to show the increase in price on products harmed the relationship between President Donald Trump and Jeff Bezos, Leavitt declined to comment. “I will not speak to the president’s relationships with Jeff Bezos,” she said.
Staff members of the Trump administration have said this decision is unfair. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who attended the briefing, said efforts to highlight tariffs were unfair, given that similar things were not done in past administrations.
There is “a very good chance” for tariff revenue to provide income tax relief in the upcoming tax bill, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tells reporters at a White House press briefing https://t.co/KLo8hiqzoz pic.twitter.com/8JYl5Pzbwi
— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) April 29, 2025
Bessent said, “The big tax on consumers that goes unnoticed is deregulation or regulation, and we are deregulating and bringing that down,” adding, “you know, from a household income point of view, we would expect real purchasing increases that we’ve seen over the first 100 days, and we would expect that to accelerate.”
Amazon launched its Haul service in 2024 to combat the rise of retailers such as Shein and Temu. The service aimed to ship items directly from sellers, including those in mainland China, partially benefiting from duty-free shipments on goods valued under $800, allowing them to enter the US without tariffs.
