Amazon (AMZN) is denying reports that it will display the impact of tariffs next to the price of products on its e-commerce site that drew the ire of the Trump administration on Tuesday.
According to Washington Post reporter Jeff Stein, Amazon said it was never considering adding the additional cost caused by tariffs next to the price of goods on its main website, but rather was contemplating doing so on its low-cost Amazon Haul site.
Earlier on Tuesday, Punchbowl News reported that Amazon would show tariff-related price increases on goods. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the move “a hostile and political act.”
Amazon stock was off 1% in early trading.
On Monday, Reuters reported that some Amazon merchants were planning to pare back their participation in the company’s Prime Day event this summer due to tariff uncertainty.
“Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?” Leavitt said following the Punchbowl News report. “And I would also add that it’s not a surprise because, as Reuters recently wrote, Amazon has partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm.”
It’s unclear which report Leavitt was referring to, but a 2021 report from Reuters said Amazon partnered with China’s propaganda arm to sell some publications on its US site.
“So this is another reason why Americans should buy American,” Leavitt added.
“It’s another reason why we are onshoring critical supply chains here at home to shore up our own critical supply chain and boost our own manufacturing here.”
Amazon didn’t respond to a request for comment by press time.
Speaking earlier this month on CNBC, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said when asked about tariffs, “We’re going to try and do everything we can to keep prices as low as possible for customers.”
Asked about the company’s contact with the Trump administration, Jassy said, “We [talk] to the administration all the time.”
“We share with them different … things that we think matter to consumers, things that we would think matter to enterprises … [We] have some conversations about tariffs as well. And we share what some of the concerns are and they’re aware of them.”
Amazon is set to report its quarterly results after the bell on Thursday. Analysts and investors expect to hear more from Jassy about how the company is working through the impact of both tariffs and the Trump administration’s changes to the de minimis exemption.#
The de minimis exemption lets companies ship items under $800 to the US without paying a duty.
Trump had an acrimonious relationship with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos during his first term in office, frequently criticizing Bezos over the Washington Post’s coverage of him. Bezos owns the Washington Post.
Bezos has since met with Trump and attended his inauguration alongside Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) CEO Sundar Pichai, Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook, Meta (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk. Amazon also donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.
By Yahoo News
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