Online marketplace Amazon said it would not implement changes to its site that would show consumers a “tariff surcharge” fee only shortly after proposing the idea.
The AP reports:
Amazon’s Haul service — a recently launched, low-cost storefront — “considered the idea” of listing import charges on certain products, company spokesperson Tim Doyle said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. But this “was never approved and is not going to happen.”
The move comes as the Trump administration on Tuesday pushed back against the notion, labeling it “hostile and political.”
“This is a hostile and political act by Amazon,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told media outlets Tuesday. “Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years? And I would also add that… Amazon has partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm.”
Reports initially claimed Amazon would implement the changes to alert users on price hikes.
“So the e-commerce giant will soon show how much Trump’s tariffs are adding to the price of each product, according to a person familiar with the plan,” reported Punchbowl News on Tuesday.
“The shopping site will display how much of an item’s cost is derived from tariffs – right next to the product’s total listed price.”
Amazon’s statement on the situation reportedly followed a personal phone call from President Trump to Amazon owner Jeff Bezos on Tuesday morning complaining about Punchbowl’s report.
However, the AP claims the changes were never intended to affect the entire website, and were solely going to impact “Amazon Hauls” – “a recently launched, low-cost storefront” – before the idea was scrapped entirely.