Amazon scraps plans to show cost of US tariffs
US online retailer Amazon has scrapped plans to display the cost of recent trade tariffs to customers, CNBC reported on Tuesday, citing the e-commerce giant. Media reports about the alleged plan sparked a heated response from Washington, where it was labeled 'hostile.'
Earlier in the day, Punchbowl News reported, citing a source familiar with Amazon's plans, that the retailer would 'soon' begin showing tariff costs alongside product prices.
'This was never approved and is not going to happen,' Amazon spokesperson Tim Doyle told CNBC, clarifying that the company had merely 'considered' listing import charges on certain items sold within Haul, a section of the platform which features ultra-low-cost products shipped directly from manufacturers in China.
A source familiar with the matter told CNBC that Amazon had considered adding a separate line item to Haul products in response to US President Donald Trump's move to eliminate the so-called de minimis trade loophole. This exemption, set to expire on May 2, currently allows duty-free imports of packages valued at under $800.
The source emphasized that the plan was unrelated to Trump's 145% tariff on Chinese imports.
The initial report of Amazon's alleged plan triggered a backlash from the White House. During a daily press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the reported move a 'hostile and political act.'
'Why didn't Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?' Leavitt asked.
According to a source cited by NBC News, Trump personally called Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos on Tuesday morning to express his indignation about the Punchbowl report.
The president later told reporters that Bezos 'was very nice, he was terrific' during the call and that 'he solved the problem very quickly.'
Earlier this month, Trump introduced sweeping tariffs on several countries, with Chinese goods facing duties of up to 145%. The president argued that the measure would help revive domestic manufacturing and correct a skewed trade balance. In response, Beijing has imposed its own tariffs and export restrictions.
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