Jeff Bezos — image credit: Amazon
Amazon does not want to be blamed for any increases in pricing, so is reportedly planning to display the specific impact of President Trump’s tariffs on everything it sells — and the White House isn’t happy about the plan.
As it’s US companies and their customers who pay the cost of Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs, it’s been clear that prices will rise, and there has already been panic-buying of iPhones. There hasn’t been a clear indicator of precisely what the tariffs will add to the price of specific items.
That may change soon. According to Punchbowl News on Tuesday morning, Amazon is allegedly planning to display that detail next to every item affected.
Amazon has not as yet announced this plan, and it’s not clear how the company will present the data if the report is accurate. However, the White House has taken the claim seriously enough to call out the company for its actions.
“This is hostile and political act by Amazon,”White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said while seizing the microphone at a press briefing.
There is no further comment from Amazon yet.
While Amazon Prime, like all streamers other than Apple TV+, regularly alters its library, this release is being seen to be an attempt to curry favor with Trump. It follows Amazon head and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos’s $1 million donation to Trump’s inauguration fund
According to Axios, Bezos has also previously been engaged with Trump on political issues for longer than expected. In July 2024, he was reportedly advising Trump over his pick for vice president, as well as then killing the Washington Post‘s planned endorsement of Kamala Harris for the presidency.
Bezos was not along in contributing to Trump’s inauguration, though, as Apple’s Tim Cook also donated $1 million. It’s likely that the donation later helped Cook persuade Trump to grant Apple a tariff exemption.
