(The Center Square) – Amazon on Tuesday denied reports that it plans to display the cost of tariffs next to the prices of products it sells.
The e-commerce giant said its bargain unit, Amazon Haul, considered the idea, but the company has no plans to do so.
“The team that runs our ultra low cost Amazon Haul store considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products,” the company said. “This was never approved and is not going to happen.”
Amazon clarified its policies after criticism from the White House on Tuesday morning.
“This is a hostile and political act by Amazon,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?”
Punchbowl News reported that Amazon planned to display the cost of tariffs next to product prices. Amazon denied it.
Trump announced a slate of tariffs on April 2, which he called “Liberation Day” for American trade. Seven days later, on April 9, he paused nearly all of those higher rates that Trump calls reciprocal. Trump said the pause would last 90 days as his trade team talks with more than 75 other nations. However, Trump maintained a 10% baseline tariff and a 145% import duty on goods from China.
Economists, businesses, and a growing number of publicly traded companies have warned that tariffs could push up prices on a large swath of consumer products.
Trump has said he wants to use tariffs to bring back manufacturing jobs lost to lower-wage countries in decades past, shift the tax burden away from U.S. families, and pay down national debt.
A tariff is a tax on imported goods. The importer pays the tax and can either absorb the loss or pass the cost on to consumers through higher prices.
