White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that Amazon’s reported plan to display the breakdown of how much tariffs are impacting the cost of each good is a “hostile” and “political act.”
Punchbowl News reported Tuesday that Amazon planned to display the cost of President Donald Trump’s tariffs next to the total price of the products on its website. Leavitt, who had just spoken with Trump on the phone about the plan, accused the tech company of engaging in a blatantly political act against the administration.
“I will take this [question] because I just got off the phone with the president about Amazon’s announcement. This is a hostile and political act by Amazon. Why didn’t Amazon do this when [former President Joe] Biden hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years? And I would also add that it’s not a surprise, because as Reuters recently wrote, Amazon has recently partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm. So 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 here.”
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An Amazon spokesperson disputed the Punchbowl report in a response to The Washington Post, saying that this plan “was never under consideration” on the company’s main website.
“The team that runs our ultra low cost Amazon Haul store has considered listing import charges on certain products. This was never a consideration for the main Amazon site and nothing has been implemented on any Amazon properties,” the spokesperson said.
Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos, who served as CEO until 2021, has seemingly changed his tune on Trump since his first term in office, even offering a congratulatory message to the president on his “extraordinary political comeback” after winning the 2024 election in November. Ahead of his visit to Mar-a-Lago, Bezos donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund through Amazon.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent praised Trump for bringing down inflation and interest rates in his first 100 days, and predicted that prices will go down even further.
“I would also add that bringing down the terrible Biden inflation has been a priority for the first 100 days of the Trump administration and President Trump has done a great job leading that since January 20. Interest rates, mortgage rates are down. Gasoline and energy prices are down. We’re expecting further decreases and as Karoline said, the big tax on consumers that goes unnoticed is deregulation or regulation. So we are deregulating and bringing that down.”
U.S. inflation eased in March, with the consumer price index (CPI) increasing 2.4% due, in large part, to the decreasing energy prices.
Amazon’s annual “Prime Day,” an exclusive shopping event for Prime members, may see a pullback from sellers who previously sold Chinese-made goods during the shopping event due to Trump’s tariffs, Reuters first reported Tuesday. The trade war between the U.S. and China escalated as the Asian country retaliated with its own tariffs, causing the nation to face tariffs of up to 245%, the White House said on April 15.
The president said on April 22 that the tariffs on China will be “substantially” lowered, and Leavitt told Fox News that China must negotiate a deal with the U.S. in order to see a decrease in tariffs. Bessent further confirmed on April 22 that there will be a “de-escalation” in Trump’s trade war with China.
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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