White House Turns On Amazon, Leavitt Slams Tariff Pricing

Amazon was thought to be one of the major companies aligned with the policies and practices of President Donald Trump. However, the major online retailer is now in the crosshairs of the White House after Amazon decided to highlight new pricing plans based on Trump tariffs, which angered White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Punchbowl News first broke the news that Amazon is going ahead with a plan to show tariff pricing on a portion of items sold on its platform, as it was largely expected that prices would rise under Trump’s economic plan. Experts have long warned that tariffs, which are a normal part of global trade, eventually pass on costs to consumers. Leavitt framed the pricing listing as “a hostile and political act” and then questioned why company leadership never listed the pricing jump in previous years.

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“Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?” Leavitt said during a press briefing with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. According to the report, Amazon will share how much the tariffs will add to the cost of the items. However, it isn’t meant to be used across the entire site. While remaining on the attack, Leavitt cited a Reuters article that said the company Jeff Bezos founded had “partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm,” doing so while holding up a printed page of the article referenced that was first published in December 2021. The Reuters report pointed out that Amazon removed public reviews and ratings from President Xi Jinping’s book of speeches. On X, many are reacting to Amazon’s tariff price listing announcement, noting that the company is already releasing statements countering the original slate of reports that pricing would be shown on all goods affected by tariffs.  Those responses can be viewed below. UPDATE: A spokesperson for Amazon shot down the details of the report from Punchbowl News, stating, “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.” — Photo: MANDEL NGAN / Getty

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