The Blubber

The White House on Tuesday sharply criticized Amazon over reported plans to display the cost of President Donald Trump’s tariffs alongside product prices on its website.

“This is a hostile and political act by Amazon,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt during a press briefing.

Leavitt questioned the timing, asking, “Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?” She added, “This is another reason why Americans should buy American.”

Following her remarks, shares of Amazon—founded by Jeff Bezos—fell more than 2% in premarket trading, though the stock later rebounded by midday.

Shortly after the briefing, an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC that only its budget-oriented section, Amazon Haul, had considered listing import fees on some items. “This was never a consideration for the main Amazon site and nothing has been implemented on any Amazon properties,” the spokesperson said.

Roughly an hour later, the company clarified further: the proposal to show tariff-related charges was “never approved” and is “not going to happen.”

According to a source familiar with the situation, Trump himself phoned Bezos Tuesday morning to voice his displeasure over the initial report, which had triggered the White House’s reaction.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick weighed in on X (formerly Twitter), calling Amazon’s walk-back a “good move.”

The controversy stemmed from a Punchbowl News report earlier in the day stating that Amazon planned to show buyers how much of an item’s price was due to tariffs—listing the amount next to each product’s total cost, according to someone familiar with the matter.

During the press briefing, a journalist asked Leavitt and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent if this development illustrated that “it’s the American consumer, and not China, who is going to have to pay for these policies.”