Amazon responds after White House rebuke over tariff label report
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt today denounced a Punchbowl News report suggesting Amazon would label the cost of President Trump’s tariffs alongside product prices as “a hostile and political act by Amazon.”
Leavitt’s remarks came after she said she spoke with President Trump and while she took questions alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at today’s press briefing.
Amazon responded to US and Global News‘s request for confirmation and comment, directing us in an email to their response posted on their About Amazon website.
“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,“ says the response written by Amazon Staff on the About Amazon website.
The episode had briefly sent Amazon’s shares down in premarket trading before they recovered. The incident appeared to highlight ongoing tensions between the Trump Administration’s trade policy defenders and major retailers navigating the economic impact of elevated import levies.
Punchbowl News reported earlier today that Amazon planned to display how much of each item’s total listed price derived from Trump’s tariffs, framing the change as an effort to shift blame for higher consumer costs. These tariffs, which include a 25 percent levy on many goods from China and additional duties on other trading partners, have increased costs on Chinese imports by approximately 145 percent since their inception.
During the briefing, Leavitt questioned why Amazon had not applied the same transparency to pricing when tariffs were enacted under the Biden Administration, referencing a 2021 Reuters report alleging the company had partnered with a “Chinese propaganda arm.”
She emphasized that the initiative amounted to “another reason why Americans should buy American,” reiterating the Trump Administration’s focus on bolstering domestic manufacturing and securing critical supply chains.
Leavitt also declined to comment on President Trump’s personal relationship with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Featured image shows Amazon Fresh Dash Cart Shopping Screen. Photo via Amazon Press Center.
