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Amazon (AMZN) said it never planned to display how much tariffs would raise prices on its main website, hours after the White House said doing so would be a “hostile and political act.”
After an earlier report stated otherwise, Amazon told Quartz that only the team behind Haul, its budget shopping experience that competes directly with overseas sellers such as Temu (PDD) and Shein, had “considered” the idea.
“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,” Amazon said in a statement attributed to spokesperson Tim Doyle.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called Amazon’s clarification a “good move” on X (formerly Twitter).
Earlier Tuesday, the White House went after the e-commerce giant after Punchbowl News, citing an unnamed source familiar with the company’s plan, reported that Amazon “will soon” show how much of an item’s cost is derived from tariffs right next to the product’s listed price.
“This is a hostile and political act by Amazon,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?”
She went on to suggest that Amazon is aligned with a Chinese propaganda arm and that the company was complying with censorship demands from the foreign government.
Amazon Haul, which the company launched last year, offers apparel, electronics, and other goods for under $20. It isn’t the first low-cost retailer to consider how tariffs will affect shoppers’ habits. Shein has a banner at checkout that reads, “Tariffs are included in the price you pay. You’ll never have to pay extra at delivery.” Both Shein and Temu have raised prices amid the president’s tariffs and the impending closure of the de minimis loophole.
Amazon will be hit hard by the president’s tariffs on China, which currently are 145% on goods imported from the country. Over 1,000 products on Amazon have seen price increases since Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement on April 2. According to price analysis firm SmartScout, the average price jump across those products is around 30%.
“It’s one of the first concerted efforts I’ve seen where nothing explains the price hikes other than tariffs,” SmartScout CEO Scott Needham told CBS MoneyWatch.
Amazon CEO Andrew Jassy told CNBC earlier this month that he expects U.S. tariffs to boost prices on a number of consumer goods. And according to Reuters, some Amazon sellers are pulling out of Prime Day amid Trump’s tariffs.