Amazon on Tuesday disputed a news report that it planned to display the costs of President Donald Trump’s tariffs to consumers, after White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt condemned the e-commerce giant over the story.
In an emailed statement, company spokesman Tim Doyle said the team that runs Haul, Amazon’s low-cost Temu competitor, “has considered listing import charges on certain products.” But it “was never a consideration for the main Amazon site,” he said, “and nothing has been implemented on any Amazon properties.”
Punchbowl News reported early Tuesday that Amazon would display the costs, citing an unnamed source. At a joint news conference Tuesday with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Leavitt said she “just got off the phone” with Trump about Amazon’s reported plans and strongly criticized the company.
“This is a hostile and political act by Amazon,” Leavitt said. “Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?”
Leavitt declined to comment on Trump’s relationship with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who has courted Trump during the president’s second term. (Bezos owns The Washington Post.)
Amazon’s stock sank on Leavitt’s comments when trading opened Tuesday morning.
The comments reflect increasing political peril for the White House as the effects of its global trade war reach more Americans. While many economic indicators have remained healthy, the tariffs imposed by the administration, particularly on China, are expected to become more visible in the coming weeks and months. Nearly 2 out of 3 Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of tariffs, a recent Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found.
Retailers have been struggling to navigate new tariffs on Chinese goods, in particular — import taxes on products made in China amount to 145 percent. Many importers have paused shipments from China altogether, delaying the delivery of appliances, electronics, cribs, clothing and more, as they wait for clarity on trade policy.
“Folks are not shipping out of China right now because they’re not going to pay two and a half times for those goods that are coming in, until we get some semblance of a plan,” Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said in an April 11 news briefing.
The CEOs of Walmart, Target and Home Depot — three of the country’s largest retailers — warned the president last week that tariffs on Chinese goods would soon lead to higher prices and empty shelves, Axios reported.
