• The Trump administration has responded to reports that Amazon is considering displaying tariff costs next to the prices of products on its site.
• It called the reported plan a “hostile and political act”.
• The retail giant denied any plan to display tariff costs, with it being an idea proposed and then rejected for its discount Amazon Haul stores.

To call United States President, Donald Trump’s, tariff plan a disruption to the world economy, would be an understatement. In the weeks following the sweeping announcements, which have been paused and revised on a handful of occasions, many American businesses and industries have weighed in on its impact on consumers in the region.

This week, a report by Punchbowl News (paywall), seemingly put the Trump administration in a spin, with the publication noting alleged Amazon plans to display tariff costs next to the total price of items on the Amazon online marketplace.

When asked about this in a press briefing yesterday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, had a response locked and loaded. Here, she questioned why Amazon displayed no such costs when the Biden administration raised the inflation rate during that term.

Leavitt also cited a 2021 Reuters article, which claimed that Amazon was working with a propaganda arm of the Chinese government. Said article was in reference to reviews for a book on Chinese President Xi Jinping, and efforts to inflate positive sentiment for the book, which is an issue that has plagued reviews on Amazon for years now.

How this relates to the recent tariffs being imposed on China, which sit at around 145 percent on most items being imported from the country, is unclear.

What is clear, however, is that Amazon could soon be public enemy number one in the eyes of the Trump administration, should it go ahead with any plan to display tariff costs on its site, with Leavitt labelling the company’s reported action as a “hostile and political act”.

As for whether such a plan is in the works at Amazon, the company has denied any such claims.

“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,” Amazon spokesperson, Tim Doyle, told Engadget in an official statement.

For those unfamiliar with Amazon Haul, it is a discounted version of its regular online store and was rolled out late last year in response to growing competition from Chinese ecommerce platforms like Shein and Temu.

Both retailers recently announced price increases across most products as a response to the aforementioned US-imposed tariffs, so it is puzzling as to why Amazon would do the same if it were in direct competition with such companies.

We should, however, have a better idea of where Amazon is at when its usual Prime Day sales event kicks off Stateside in July, with reports suggesting that many retailers are opting out due to the uncertainty related to tariffs.

If that turns out to be the case, Amazon and the Trump adminsitration may in fact find each other at odds.

[Image – Photo by Getty Images on Unsplash]