Amazon Denies It Was Ever Going to Highlight Trump-Driven Price Hikes After White House Lashes Out

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Amazon denied on Tuesday that it ever planned to place a sticker on products showing the additional cost of President Donald Trump’s tariffs for consumers.

Punchbowl News reported early Tuesday on the move in an article titled, “Amazon to display tariff costs for consumers.” The report led to questions at a White House briefing hours after its publication, with the White House press secretary blasting the move.

“I just got off the phone with the president about Amazon’s announcement,” Leavitt said. “This is a hostile and political act by Amazon! Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?”

The Punchbowl report said that “Amazon doesn’t want to shoulder the blame for the cost of” Trump’s trade war and will therefore “show how much Trump’s tariffs are adding to the price of each product, according to a person familiar with the plan.”

In a statement to the Washington Post’s Jeff Stein, Amazon, however, made clear the massive online retailer had no such plans. Amazon’s statement read, “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 White House’s hammering of Amazon and its quick denial comes amid mounting concern over shortages and price hikes due to Trump’s sweeping global tariffs. Reports of empty ports as container ship traffic from countries like China have raised alarm that retailers will soon run out of goods.

“Since the U.S. raised levies on China to 145% in early April, cargo shipments have plummeted, perhaps by as much as 60%, according to one estimate. That drastic reduction in goods from one of the largest U.S. trading partners hasn’t been felt by many Americans yet, but that’s about to change,” warned Bloomberg News in a Tuesday article.