Trump White House blasts Amazon on tariff cost report

The White House on Tuesday slammed Amazon for reportedly planning to display the cost of President Donald Trump’s tariffs next to the total price of products on its site.

“This is hostile and political act by Amazon,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

“Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?” Leavitt asked.

She added, “This is another reason why Americans should buy American.”

Shares of the online retail giant founded by Jeff Bezos dropped more than 2% in premarket trading immediately following the remarks.

An Amazon spokesperson told CNBC later Tuesday morning that the company was only ever considering listing tariff charges on some products for Amazon Haul, its budget-focused shopping section.

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

The Trump administration’s aggressive swipe came in response to Punchbowl News’ report earlier Tuesday morning that Amazon will soon show consumers how much of an item’s cost comes from tariffs.

The amount added as a result of tariffs will be displayed right next to each product’s total listed price, a person familiar with the plan told the news outlet.

A reporter in Tuesday’s press briefing asked Leavitt and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent if they agreed that Amazon’s move is a “crystal-clear demonstration that it’s the American consumer, and not China, who is going to have to pay for these policies.”

Leavitt opted to respond because, she said, she “just got off the phone with the president about Amazon’s announcement.”

Leavitt also said the company’s decision was “not a surprise,” saying Reuters “recently” wrote that Amazon has “partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm.”

She held up a print-out of a Reuters report from December 2021 that Amazon complied with an edict from Beijing’s government that it remove customer reviews and ratings from a book of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s speeches and writings.

Amazon is not the first retailer to put a spotlight on how new tariffs are changing its prices.

China-based fast fashion giants Shein and Temu have both added massive surcharges in recent days. Temu now includes a line on its checkout tally showing an “import charge” that adds around 145% for each item.

Leavitt’s response could signal an emerging rift between Trump and Bezos, who has joined other billionaires and tech leaders in cozying up to the Republican president since he won the 2024 election.

After frequently catching Trump’s ire in years past, Bezos in December expressed optimism about the Republican’s second term, saying he believes Trump has grown calmer and more confident.

The same month, Amazon donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. Bezos later attended Trump’s inauguration.

Bezos drew further accusations of seeking to court Trump when he forced the Washington Post, which he owns, to restrict its opinion section to publishing only pieces in defense of “personal liberties and free markets.”

But Amazon’s business has come under strain in the face of Trump’s sweeping tariffs plans — especially his 145% duty on China, where up to 70% of Amazon goods are sourced, according to Wedbush Securities.

As Amazon merchants have started hiking prices on a wide array of goods in response to the tariffs, the company has started emailing the sellers to gauge the impact of Trump’s agenda.

Leavitt, after delivering her statement on Amazon, was asked if Bezos is “still a Trump supporter.”

“Look, I will not speak to the president’s relationships with Jeff Bezos, but I will tell you that this is certainly a hostile and political action by Amazon,” she said.

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— CNBC’s Annie Palmer contributed to this report.