Amazon denied on Tuesday that it was planning to show the cost that tariffs would add to the price of products on its website, pushing back on a report from Punchbowl News after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted the Seattle-based company.
Leavitt ripped Amazon for taking a “hostile and political” action, adding, “Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?” After backlash from the White House, the company said that it “never” considered showing tariff costs on “the main Amazon site.”
An Amazon spokesman said on Tuesday morning that the plan was only discussed for the “ultra low cost Amazon Haul store,” which “considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products,” ABC News reported. The spokesman added, “Teams discuss ideas all the time. This was never a consideration for the main Amazon site and nothing has been implemented on any Amazon properties.”
Asked about the Punchbowl report during a press briefing on Tuesday morning, Leavitt said that she had just spoken to President Donald Trump about the issue. Leavitt also pointed to a 2021 Reuters report about the tech and e-commerce giant partnering with a Chinese propaganda arm and complying with some of communist China’s wishes for the website. More than 70% of Amazon’s products are sourced in China and subject to Trump’s 145% tariff on the country.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has not commented on the Punchbowl report. Bezos has cozied up to Trump since the 2024 election, joining Trump for dinner at Mar-a-Lago after the election and attending Trump’s inauguration after Amazon donated $1 million to the inaugural fund.
