The White House has denounced Amazon's reported plans to disclose the cost that US tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump were adding to its products, and slammed the retail giant for its past ties to China.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she had discussed the Amazon plan, reported earlier by Punchbowl News, with Trump, and his message about it was: "This is a hostile and political act by Amazon."
The report led to US President Donald Trump calling Amazon Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos on Tuesday morning to complain about the company's alleged plans to display prices that show the impact of tariffs, according to multiple media outlets.
"Jeff Bezos is very nice," Trump told reporters. "He solved the problem very quickly. He did the right thing."
Amazon, meanwhile, initially denied the story from Punchbowl News and said it had never considered listing tariff prices on its main retail site, nor had anything been put into place.
Amazon later said on Tuesday its low-cost Haul unit had considered listing import charges for goods in light of new US tariffs but denied looking at such a plan for its main website, after the White House accused it of a hostile political act.
It acknowledged it had considered the move for certain inexpensive China-made products on the site, but then rejected the idea.
The company said its smaller Haul division, which competes for low-cost buyers with Temu and Shein, had mulled displaying import levies.
"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," a company spokesperson said, adding that "teams discuss ideas all the time."
President Trump has imposed a tsunami of tariffs on US trading partners, including China which has seen tariff costs rise by 145% since Trump took office, sending many corporations scrambling.
"Why didn't Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level of 40 years?" Leavitt told reporters at a White House briefing.
During the briefing, Leavitt stated that Amazon's move was not a surprise, given a 2021 report by Reuters that the tech company had partnered with a "Chinese propaganda arm."
"So, this is another reason why Americans should buy American," she said, underscoring the Trump administration's efforts to shore up critical supply chains and boost domestic manufacturing.
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