Amazon's tariff display stirs White House condemnation
The White House condemned Amazon and Jeff Bezos for reportedly planning to display the cost of tariffs imposed by Donald Trump next to product prices on the shopping platform, according to cnbc.com. "This is a hostile and political act by Amazon," said Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary. The company denies it.
"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," a company spokesperson responded to questions from cnbc.com.
However, just the rumours about the possibility of implementing such a solution affected the stock price of the e-commerce giant and met with a reaction from Donald Trump's administration.
Following the reports of a potential intent to display tariff amounts next to product prices, Amazon's stock in pre-market trading dropped by over 2 percent.
The White House hits Amazon. spokeswoman's reaction
During a Tuesday briefing at the White House, a journalist asked Karoline Leavitt and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen whether they agreed that Amazon's move is "crystal clear evidence that it's the American consumer, not China, who will have to pay for this policy."
According to cnbc.com, Leavitt decided to respond because, as she noted, she had "just spoken with the president about Amazon's announcement."
"This is a hostile and political act by Amazon," said Leavitt.
"Why didn't Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years? This is another reason why Americans should buy American," she added.
The service calculates that about 70 percent of products sold on Amazon are made in China. Donald Trump imposed tariffs as high as 145% on imports from the Middle Kingdom.
