The White House on Tuesday sharply criticized Amazon for reportedly planning to display tariff surcharges alongside product prices, a move officials described as politically motivated amid heightened trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
"This is a hostile and political act by Amazon," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing, according to Fox News. "Why didn't Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?"
The controversy erupted after Punchbowl News reported that Amazon intends to show customers how much of an item's price is attributable to tariffs imposed under President Donald Trump's trade policies. The surcharge would be displayed next to the product's total listed price, a person familiar with the plan told the outlet.
Leavitt said she "just got off the phone" with President Trump regarding Amazon's announcement but declined to comment on the president's relationship with company founder Jeff Bezos. "I will not speak to the president's relationships with Jeff Bezos," she said.
The decision by Amazon comes amid a sharp escalation in U.S.-China trade tensions. Earlier this month, Trump announced a new wave of significant tariffs targeting Chinese imports. In response, Amazon sellers have raised prices on hundreds of consumer products, from electronics to clothing, with SmartScout reporting average price increases close to 30%.
"It's one of the first concerted efforts I've seen where nothing explains the price hikes other than tariffs," SmartScout CEO Scott Needham told CBS MoneyWatch.
Shares of Amazon dropped more than 2% in premarket trading Tuesday following the White House's criticism. Amazon has not publicly responded to requests for comment.
The development could test the evolving relationship between Trump and Bezos, who had famously clashed during Trump's first term but have appeared to move closer since the 2024 election. Trump recently described Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg as having shown "a higher level of respect" and praised them for aligning their companies' policies with his administration's values.
"They've been great," Trump said in an interview with The Atlantic. "Maybe they didn't know me at the beginning, and they know me now."
Bezos drew attention last year after reportedly blocking the Washington Post's editorial board from endorsing Trump's opponent, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, and restructuring the newspaper's opinion section to emphasize "personal liberties and free markets."
Meanwhile, China-based fast fashion platforms Shein and Temu have already begun displaying import charges on their checkout pages, with Temu's surcharge reportedly adding around 145% per item.
