Following reports that Amazon was considering displaying tariff surcharges on products as a transparency measure, US President Donald Trump made an angry call to the company’s founder, Jeff Bezos, according to The Wall Street Journal. The White House tagged the move as “hostile” and “political act”, questioning why Amazon hadn’t made a similar move during previous administrations when inflation soared.

Trump, while talking to the reporters, acknowledged making a call to Jeff Bezos. “Jeff Bezos was very nice. He was terrific. He solved the problem very quickly. He did the right thing. He is a good guy,” Trump told the reporters.

“This is a hostile and political act by Amazon…,” said White House press Secretary Karoline Leavitt after getting off a call from the President, before asking, “Why didn’t Amazon do it when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest in 40 years?”

She added, “I would also add that it’s not a surprise because, as Reuters recently wrote, Amazon has partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm…,” as she showed a printout of the article titled “Amazon partnered with China propaganda arm” during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington.  

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“ This is another reason Americans should buy American. It’s another reason why we are onshoring critical supply chains at home…,” she further said. 

Leavitt’s remarks came in response to a journalist referencing a Punchbowl News report that Amazon’s move clearly displays that “it’s the American consumer, and not China, who is going to have to pay for these policies”.

What did Amazon say?

Amazon, however, said that the suggestion to show tariff surcharges on its discount shopping site Haul was “never approved” and hence “will never happen”. The US-based company added that it never planned to display tariff surcharges on its main website. 

“The team that runs our ultra-low-cost Amazon Haul store has considered listing import charges on certain products. This was never approved and is not going to happen,” read a statement by Amazon on X (formerly Twitter). 

The statement comes after the company’s 61-year-old founder received an angry call from the President over the reports that the company was exploring the idea of showing “how much of an item’s cost is derived from tariffs – right next to the product’s total listed price”. The report also added that the suggestion came up as the company didn’t want to face backlash from consumers over inflated prices of products, driven by new tariffs. 

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After Trump’s announcement of “kind” tariffs in his April 2 Liberation Day speech, sellers on Amazon have increased prices on their items, including home appliances, electronics and clothing. Trump has levied 145 per cent tariffs on China, which will impact Amazon as it heavily relies on smaller retailers for imports. As per a company, SmartScout, the average price jump across these items is around 30 per cent. SmartScout analyses prices across platforms.

Ironically, Trump’s harsh criticism of Amazon comes shortly after he appeared to warm up to Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Trump recently said his once-adversarial relationships with the two tech moguls had evolved into ones of “mutual respect”. He even praised Bezos as a “great businessman” and suggested that the policies of both companies align more closely with his administration’s goals.