An angry Donald Trump phoned Amazon founder Jeff Bezos after the company considered displaying the price of tariffs.
Amazon has now backtracked on the plan, first reported by Punchbowl News, after a scathing response from the White House.
It was reported the company wanted to avoid blame for rising tariffs by listing the additional cost to each product on Amazon Haul—their answer to Shein.
Highlights
- Donald Trump angrily called Jeff Bezos to complain after Amazon proposed listing tariff costs on products, CNN reported.
- Amazon’s low-cost site, Amazon Haul, planned to show tariff prices to compete with Shein and Temu, but faced White House backlash.
- At the same time, UPS announced 20,000 job cuts and facility closures due to reduced Amazon deliveries.
- The White House called Amazon's tariff pricing plan a 'hostile and political act,' questioning why it wasn't done during high inflation in the Biden era.
Meanwhile, UPS has announced that it will cut thousands of jobs due to reduced Amazon shipments.
Trump phoned Bezos to complain about an Amazon proposal that would include tariff prices next to products
Image credits: The White House
The low-cost, marketplace-like website is aiming to compete with Shein and Temu, both massive online retailers that source their goods from China.
When White House advisors became aware of the proposal, they contacted the U.S. president, and he had Bezos on the phone.
“Of course he was pissed,” a senior official who confirmed the phone call told CNN.
“Why should a multibillion-dollar company pass off costs to consumers?”
Image credits: Andrew Harnik / Getty Images
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also had an outraged response when questioned about the proposal.
“This is a hostile and political act by Amazon,” she said.
“Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick described the idea as “nonsense” in an interview with CNBC.
“It’s nonsense,” he said. “A 10% tariff is not going to change virtually any price.
“The only price that will change would be a product that we don’t make here, like a mango.”
There is a 10% baseline tariff on all U.S. goods, but it is not the only tariff in effect. Some countries, like China, have been dealt a tariff as high as 145%.
An Amazon spokesperson said the plan had never been approved and would not be happening.
“The team that runs our ultra low-cost Amazon Haul store considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products,” a spokesperson said.
After the call, Trump described Bezos as a ‘good guy’ and Amazon abandoned the plans
“This was never approved and is not going to happen.”
Trump later told reporters: “Jeff Bezos was very nice. He was terrific.
“He solved the problem very quickly. Good guy.”
Bezos had front-row seats at Trump’s inauguration and donated $1 million to his inaugural fund.
His aerospace company, Blue Origin, recently received about $2.4 billion in federal government contracts for national security launches.
Bezos also changed the editorial section of the Washington Post in February to focus on supporting “personal liberties and free markets,” moving away from broad opinion coverage.
Image credits: Eugene Gologursky / Getty Images
The outlet’s opinion editor resigned after the announcement, and some readers said they would be canceling their subscription.
Some third-party sellers have reportedly backed out of Amazon Prime Day due to the sweeping tariffs, Reuters reported.
The businesses skipping the massive event said they previously sold China-made goods, but said costs would skyrocket due to Trump’s tariffs.
Small businesses have previously criticized Amazon for hidden fees and costs, with sellers having to upgrade their accounts to boost visibility and pay Amazon sale fees.
And delivery giant UPS announced yesterday it would cut 20,000 jobs and shut 73 facilities as part of a planned reduction in Amazon deliveries amid the sweeping tariffs, Reuters reported.
Shein and Temu have both been forced to raise their prices due to the tariff on China.
Temu has implemented an import charge, while Shein said the extra price would be included in the goods.
Amazon is not the only business to grapple with rising tariff costs
Image credits: Marques Thomas (not the actual photo)
Bezos is not the first billionaire to wonder how tariffs can be mitigated; Elon Musk said he did not like high or unpredictable tariffs after Tesla profits plummeted.
“I’ve been on the record many times saying that I believe lower tariffs are generally a good idea,” Musk told his investors.
But while he is an advocate for “predictable tariff structures” and “free trade and lower tariffs,” any decision “is entirely up to the president of the United States,” he added.