The White House on Tuesday bashed Amazon for reportedly planning on displaying how much President Trump’s tariffs added to the cost of an item, calling it an aggressive move by the e-commerce giant.
“This is a hostile and political act by Amazon. Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest levels in 40 years?” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House.
Amazon was planning to show customers on its website how much the price of an item increased as a result of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, Punchbowl News reported.
An Amazon spokesperson told The Hill after the White House briefing that 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.”
The president has imposed a 145 percent overall tariff on goods from China and has imposed 10 percent tariffs on all U.S. trading partners, pausing the additional hefty “reciprocal” tariffs for 90-days.
“This is another reason why Americans should buy American. 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,” Leavitt added, holding up a photograph of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
She said she spoke to Trump earlier in the day about Amazon’s announcement. When asked whether Bezos, who was at Trump’s inauguration in January, is still a Trump supporter, Leavitt said she wouldn’t comment on relationships.
“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 act by Amazon,” Leavitt said.
Last week, the CEOs of U.S. retailers Walmart, Target and Home Depot met with Trump while the administration negotiates deals on tariffs. During the meeting, they conveyed their fears of higher prices for consumers, including during the holiday season at the end of the year, one lobbyist source told The Hill.
Miranda Nazarro contributed to this report, which was updated at 12:11 p.m. EDT
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