Amazon Considers Displaying Tariff-Related Price Increases
White House Calls It "Hostile Act," Publicly Criticizes...
Trump Personally Calls Bezos
Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce company, considered displaying the amount added to some product prices due to tariffs, but immediately scrapped the plan after a public rebuke from the White House. During this process, it was also reported that President Donald Trump personally called Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to protest.
According to CNBC and CNN in the United States on the 29th (local time), Amazon stated in a press release that "the team operating the ultra-low-price 'Amazon Hall' store considered the idea of displaying import costs on certain products; however, this was never under consideration for major Amazon sites and was not implemented on any Amazon platform."
Earlier that morning, the US media outlet Punchbowl News reported that Amazon would display the costs added by tariffs next to product prices. Immediately after the report, the White House criticized Amazon in a press briefing, calling it a "hostile and political act." White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, when asked about the issue, said, "Why didn't Amazon take such measures when the (previous) Biden administration recorded the highest inflation in 40 years?"
Spokesperson Leavitt also held up a printed copy of a Reuters article from December 2021 and remarked sarcastically, "Amazon collaborated with Chinese propaganda agencies. Amazon's decision (to display tariffs) is not surprising." The article in question reported that Amazon's Chinese website censored user reviews of books containing speeches and writings by President Xi Jinping.
CNN, citing senior White House officials, reported that prior to the White House briefing, President Trump became extremely angry after learning about Amazon's plan and personally called Bezos to express his displeasure. A senior White House official told CNN, "Of course, President Trump was angry," and added, "He questioned why a multibillion-dollar company should pass costs on to consumers."
Earlier this year, Amazon donated $1 million to President Trump's inauguration fund, and Bezos attended the inauguration in January, appearing to grow closer to President Trump. However, President Trump's high-tariff policy, especially targeting China, is expected to deal a major blow to Amazon's e-commerce business, which has a high proportion of Chinese-made products.
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