Amazon says it has no plans to display import-related charges on its website following White House protests.
“The team that runs our ultra low cost Amazon Haul store considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products,” Amazon spokesperson Tim Doyle said in a statement provided to PYMNTS Tuesday (April 29). “This was never approved and is not going to happen.”
Amazon had considered adding a line item to goods sold on Haul — the $20 or less discount store it launched last year — in response to President Donald Trump’s removal of the de minimis trade loophole, CNBC reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. This plan was not related to Trump’s 145% tariff on imports from China, the source added.
Another report, this one by Punchbowl News and also citing an unnamed source familiar with the discussions, said that Amazon would “soon” start displaying the cost of tariffs alongside the price of each product.
This news prompted a harsh response from the Trump administration, which called Amazon’s reported plans a “hostile and political act.”
“Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt asked.
After Amazon clarified its statement, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wrote in an X post that this was a “good move.” A source told NBC News that Trump had called Amazon founder Jeff Bezos Tuesday to voice his displeasure with the Punchbowl report.
The news came the same day as reports that Amazon was pushing its suppliers to reduce their prices in response to the ongoing tariffs.
In other tariff-related news, concerns about the levies have caused consumer confidence to slip for the fifth month in a row, according to a report Tuesday by The Conference Board.
Findings from the organization’s Consumer Confidence Index survey for April included consumers’ write-in responses, where mentions of tariffs hit an all-time high.
The drop in consumer confidence was largely fueled by consumers’ expectations, as their view of current business and labor market conditions has “held up,” Stephanie Guichard, senior economist, global indicators at The Conference Board, said in a new release.
“The three expectation components — business conditions, employment prospects and future income — all deteriorated sharply, reflecting pervasive pessimism about the future,” she said.
