The White House took aggressive aim at Amazon, with President Donald Trump putting in a call to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos after the company considered displaying the added cost of tariffs on certain items.
Trump called Bezos to complain about reports that Amazon was considering displaying the cost of US tariffs next to prices for certain products on the company’s website, two senior White House officials told CNN. Trump later said it was a “good call”.
“Jeff Bezos was very nice. He was terrific,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday. “He solved the problem very quickly. Good guy.”
Punchbowl News first reported that Amazon will soon “display how much of an item’s cost is derived from tariffs — right next to the product’s total listed price.”
The move could directly illustrate to American consumers how Trump’s tariffs are affecting the cost of goods. Trump has slapped 145 per cent tariffs on imports from China and a 10 per cent minimum tax on all other countries.
The call came shortly after one of the senior officials phoned the president to inform him of the story.
“Of course he was pissed,” one of the officials, granted anonymity to speak candidly, told CNN.
“Why should a multibillion-dollar company pass off costs to consumers?”
At a briefing Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the move a “hostile and political act,” adding that she had spoken about the matter with President Trump earlier.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick echoed Levitt’s comments, saying it was a hostile act if a company went out of its way to “make it seem” like tariffs have caused prices to change.
“It’s nonsense,” he said in a CNBC interview. “A 10 per cent tariff is not going to change virtually any price,” he added, referring to the nearly universal baseline tariff on all countries.
“The only price will change would be a product that we don’t make here, like a mango.” The 10 per cent tariff, however, is hardly the only one in effect.
An Amazon spokesperson said in a statement to CNN that the move “was never a consideration for the main Amazon site and nothing has been implemented on any Amazon properties.”
Amazon, however, said it was considering the “idea of listing import charges on certain products” on Haul, its spin-off website that sells items below $US20 ($31), but the change wasn’t rolled out.
“This was never approved and not going to happen,” an Amazon spokesperson said.
However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer encouraged businesses to do just that.
“To the large businesses that sell to consumers, I say show your customers how much tariffs are hurting in their pocketbook. People deserve to know the impact tariffs have on their finances,” Schumer said in remarks delivered on the Senate floor.
Other e-commerce websites, such as Shein and Temu, have implemented changes to their pricing due to the cost of tariffs. Temu has even introduced a new import charge that is displayed at checkout. Both companies source most of their products from China.
Leavitt also cited a Reuters report from 2021 about an alleged partnership between Amazon and a “Chinese propaganda arm” that censored user reviews on its Chinese website for President Xi Jinping’s speeches and writings.
She said that was “another reason why Americans should buy American,” adding that “it’s another reason why we are onshoring critical supply chains here at home, to shore up our own critical supply chain and boost our own manufacturing here.”
Bezos has actively worked to cultivate a relationship with the president in his second term, congratulating him on his November election and dining at the White House.
Trump recently praised Bezos, telling The Atlantic in an interview published Monday: “He’s 100 per cent. He’s been great.”
Bezos’ net worth has declined by $US30 billion ($47 billion) since the start of this year, according to Bloomberg Billionaire Index, partly as a result of Trump’s tariff policies and a decline in the stock market.
