Amazon scraps plan to list tariff costs after Trump official calls it ‘hostile, political act’
E-commerce giant says plan ‘never approved’ following White House complaint; Senate confirms David Perdue as US ambassador to China
Amazon, the US e-commerce giant, on Tuesday ruled out instituting a plan to display tariff costs on its product listings after a report on the possible move drew an angry reaction from US President Donald Trump’s administration.
In a brief statement, Amazon said that a plan of “listing import charges on certain products” had been considered by an in-house team but that it was “never approved and is not going to happen”.
Later on Tuesday, Trump said he had spoken with Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos: “He solved the problem very quickly, and he did the right thing, and it’s a good guy.”
Amazon’s prompt action followed White House criticism of the company, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt calling the plan politically motivated and done in concert with China.
“This is a hostile and political act by Amazon,” Leavitt said, reacting to a report by Punchbowl News that Amazon was planning to display new added tariff costs.
“It’s not a surprise because, as Reuters recently wrote, Amazon has partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm. So this is another reason why Americans should buy American.”