Apparently Amazon Never Planned to Put Tariff Info on Any Products
Outlets have updated articles with Amazon stating the plan only applied to items in its discount site Amazon Haul.
Sheesh. Either Punchbowl News lied (which wouldn’t shock me) or the person who told the outlet lied (which also wouldn’t shock me) or Amazon got caught and retreated.
Amazon told CNN no one approved putting tariff info on any products.
Scoop: Trump called Amazon founder Jeff Bezos Tuesday morning to complain about reports that his company was considering displaying the cost U.S. tariffs next to prices for certain products on its website, two senior White House officials told @CNN
— Alayna Treene (@alaynatreene) April 29, 2025
Soon after the call between Trump & Bezos, an Amazon spokesman released a statement clarifying the move wasn't considered for the main Amazon site but was considered for Amazon Haul
The spox later sent CNN a revised stmt, adding: "This was never approved and not going to happen"
— Alayna Treene (@alaynatreene) April 29, 2025
Here’s my original story:
According to Punchbowl News, Amazon plans to put tariff information next to products, explaining how the tax increases prices.
The article is behind a paywall. I subscribe to too much, and I’m not going to subscribe to another outlet.
Amazon quickly released a statement, claiming it only applied to its discount site after the White House slammed the move. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the press:
I will take this since I just got off the phone with the president about Amazon’s announcement.
This is a hostile and political act by Amazon. Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years? And I would also add that it’s not a surprise because as Reuters recently wrote that Amazon has partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm.
So this is another reason why Americans should buy American. It’s another reason why we are onshoring critical supply chains here at home to shore up our own critical supply chain and boost our own manufacturing here.
.@PressSec reacts to Amazon's announcement on tariffs: "This is a hostile and political act by Amazon… It's not a surprise because, as Reuters recently wrote, Amazon has partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm… This is another reason Americans should buy American." pic.twitter.com/jtXZYfR8rH
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 29, 2025
The Reuters article appeared in 2021. It stemmed from China demanding that the company not allow reviews and ratings in China after it sold “a collection of President Xi Jinping’s speeches and writings on its Chinese website about two years ago.” A negative review of the book caused the disruption.
In a core element of this strategy, the internal document and interviews show, Amazon partnered with an arm of China’s propaganda apparatus to create a selling portal on the company’s U.S. site, Amazon.com – a project that came to be known as China Books. The venture – which eventually offered more than 90,000 publications for sale – hasn’t generated significant revenue. But the document shows that it was seen by Amazon as crucial to winning support in China as the company grew its Kindle electronic-book device, cloud-computing and e-commerce businesses.
The 2018 briefing document spells out the strategic stakes of the China Books project for Jay Carney, the global head of Amazon’s lobbying and public-policy operations, ahead of a trip he took to Beijing. “Kindle has been operating in China in a policy grey area,” the document stated, and noted that Amazon was having difficulty obtaining a license to sell e-books in the country.
“The key element to safeguard” against its license problem with the Chinese government “is the Chinabooks project,” the document stated.
The document also noted: “Amazon.com/China books project has also gained wide recognition among Chinese regulators.”
Well, as I said, Amazon piped up after the video of Leavitt went viral.
Amazon Haul sells low price items:
Amazon is considering showing a tariff surcharge on items sold via its site for ultra-discount items, the company confirmed to CNBC on Tuesday.
The move would affect items sold on Haul, a subsection of Amazon’s site and app that offers apparel, electronics and other goods priced below $20. Haul competes directly with Chinese discount retailers like Temu and Shein, which have surged in popularity in recent years due to their bargain basement prices.
“The team that runs our ultra low cost Amazon Haul store has considered listing import charges on certain products,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. “This was never a consideration for the main Amazon site and nothing has been implemented on any Amazon properties.”
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Comments
I don’t mind someone showing the tax, but it then needs to be consistent with all products.
And, the tariff shouldn’t show in items already in US inventory
Consistent across all products and all ADMINISTRATIONS!
All state how much slave labor is in each product from China or the number of child laborers were used.
Decades ago, Jesse Helms (boo! hisss!) kept submitting a bill that year after year never made it out of committee. It would require that products made by prison labor had to be marked as such. This is a bill the unions should have welcomed as prison labor was paid pennies, and prison factories paid no taxes.
Same thing now. I want to know if the workers building that generic car with “Buick” badges slapped on are being paid a wage that provides a good living in China, or if the labor is living in company dorms and being fed rations in a company dining hall.
Or how many US jobs were exported to the CN factory that makes it.
I seem to remember certain government agencies in previous administrations who had absolute freak-out fits that utilities were going to list how much each government fee was on your bills….
Washington state pulled this crap with their carbon tax.
Another excuse to steal everybody’s money and grift it to libs too useless and incompetent to get a real job.
The federales pitched a hissy-fit when Verizon – still in the landline business at the time – listed all of the government “fees” like rural phone subsidies, phones for the poor blah blah as “taxes” on their bills.
Standard and Chevron stations in my neighborhood posted signs at the curb for the price of a gallon of regular. First the price, then a line labeled “tax”.
Absolutely.
I see no problem with Amazon doing this whatsoever.
Plenty of restaurants itemize a separate charge for using credit cards. (That used to be a violation of their merchant account agreement 40 years ago, now it is not.)
eBay routinely breaks out the cost of shipping insurance, which they mandate.
The networking companies I bought equipment from often had two different order numbers for the same item — one at a tariffed price and one not, for people who configured networks that would ultimately be re-exported. And this was years ago.
My power utility does the same thing. Even my property tax bill shows me how much of my pie goes to which services.
This is truth in advertisingm this is consumer service, this is voter education.
I don’t mind showing the tariff.
If Trump is so proud of the tariffs, why is the Administration kicking and screaming like a child?
Comments here about slave labor are perfectly reasonable, just not relevant here.
Amazon displays taxes, so this is not a sudden policy change.
I think it’s not a bad idea. You know damn well some sellers are exaggerating the tariff in their pricing and gouging consumers.
Somehow a 40 dollar tariff on a part in $4k product translates to a $5,500 price tag.
I’m fine with displaying Tariff info.
Meh display all the relevant data. Tell the entire story. List the tariffs. List the % made in USA (with a list of Made in USA alternatives) Show Nation of origin. Show which US communities used to have the textile mill that produces that shirt but is now made in Mexico or China. List the impact of transport costs. List the environmental impact of the transport in fuel burned to bring it the USA. List the environmental, labor and other laws of the USA that the manufacturer avoids with 2nd/3rd world production. Definitely list if suspected of slave labor. List suspected or actual bribes as cost of business in country of origin. Tell the whole story and give consumers the info to make a truly informed decision on purchases.
“Show Nation of origin.” YES!!!
Another thing, and this goes beyond Amazon: I want to see country of origin on all meds, both prescriptions and OTC. I use pen needles for two of my medications. I ALWAY check the origin on the box, and for those they seem to be listed most of the time. No listing, or Made in China I had them back to the clerk.
Sorry, no can do. That would not service the function of bleating “oRanGe MaN bAd!!! tAriFFs b
ad! I don’t understand what’s going on but it’s all baaaaadddd!!!!!”
This would satisfy so many complaints of the left as of 15-20 years ago.
Which is precisely why they won’t do it.
Dear White House: You imposed tariffs. A merchant is showing those tariffs. Too bad. Suck it up and deal with it.
If the merchant is consistent and shows not only tariffs but import fees, government taxes and so on then I’m fine with it. Doing just one and not the others is pretty specific and an obvious political ploy to get the tariffs canceled.
Which would be fine…IF…Amazon also showed you how much Biden’s inflation reduction act actually increased prices on EVERYTHING you paid for over the last few years.
They didnt do that then, when inflation was RAMPANT and had an impact on EVERYTHING you had to buy to live but doing this now IS political interference of an administration they dont like.
There are times when government officials have to walk out and make truly ridiculous statements.
This is one of those times.
If a vendor wants to display the additional costs of tariffs, they have the right to do so.
That information has nothing to do with the Biden inflation or anything other than the increase in the price of goods due to tariffs the Trump administration is applying.
When government officials start in on “whataboutisms” that have nothing to do with the issue at hand, they end up looking ridiculous.
“They did it too!” is something most of us left on the playgrounds in 4th grade.
It is exactly that mentality because they do not have a leg to stand on in arguing that the cost of a policy on ordinary Americans should be hidden.
The true reason is unstated but the true reason is ending Bidenflation was the primary promise of the Trump campaign not introducing Trumpflation so if Amazon displayed the price of the tariffs……..
Inflation is not a rise in price, it is the loss of value of the currency being transacted usually by govt creating more currency and lowering the value of the existing currency by that amount. The seller demands additional currency to compensate for the loss in value. It can also occur when the perceived value of the currency falls. Usually directly corresponding to the ability of a govt to repay its debt without inflating away the value by excess liquidity, aka printing money.
The problem with being a reserve currency is having to supply the amount of currency needed to float the world economy. In some ways this helps offset the inherent inflationary nature of the additional money printing by exporting it to the Nations that hold the currency in their reserves. Near the end of the life cycle of a reserve currency the other Nations shift to another currency or to gold. Happening now. Why? Our National debt is $36+Trillion and growing by $1Teillion every 100 days…the interest payments alone exceeds the entire DoD budget ….which casts doubt on the willingness/ability of the USA to pay its debt off v further devalue the dollar to inflate our way out of debt. Much easier to print off $36 Trillion, hand it over to bond holders and be out of.debt…of course the value of all dollars would fall substantially and all at once.
In sum to stop inflation gotta cut current spending and get the fed to stop printing new money. Loss of liquidity will seize up the entire economy though. Be careful about wishing to ‘end inflation’.
Why should the White House object?
If it is a good policy stand by it, allow the Americans to see it and be transparent. Send Jeff Bezos a thank you letter because if the policy is good why can’t the American People see the results?
I do not recall any right wing backlash against small businesses and restaurants doing the same with Democrat taxes and regulations.
Amazon should let Americans know how this impacts their wallets. Especially actual working class people who can’t afford the increased prices.
The sooner Trump stops trying to destroy the current American Economy while chasing myths the better.
Because at no point prior to today did Amazon do anything like this with Biden’s disastrous inflation reduction act when that single Government legislation led to the prices on EVERYTHING you need to buy to survive spiralling out of control!
This is just blatant political interference for one reason only and that is to impact an administration they hate…while they did everything possible to protect the previous administration who’s actual policies reduced Americans living standards in real time, right across the board.
This is fantastic. I have been struggling for years whenever I buy stuff from Amazon trying to find which products are made in China so I can choose otherwise. Upwards of 90% of the time there’s no country-of-origin displayed, or there’s something coy such as ‘imported’ or ‘designed in US.’ Sometimes I’ll luck out searching the Questions or Reviews, but it’s a tedious process. Now all I’ll have to do is check the new ‘Tariffs’ field. Thanks, Amazon!
IKR. Most things in China are prone to failure, anyway.
What is IKR? Thank you. I don’t do well with Text-Speak.
I Know Right
BTW Whose on First?
IDK! DILLIGAFF?
IDK? Third base!
I can pick out most of them coming from China or similar locales by looking at the formatting of the description. Aside from language issues, there are tells about using brackets and stars to start each bullet/paragraph. But it’s not a sure thing.
What would be fun, is if they were able to show the cost to manufacture the item. Would you still pay $200 for that purse if you knew it only cost $21 to make?
But is that in SAD money or FOE money?
LOL, show us. Also show us how much money by Amazon is being spent on Woke so you know where ur dollars are being spent.
Well well well
Bezo has already back downed
Said it was never a policy
Hmm
https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2025/04/29/report-amazon-to-display-line-item-tariff-cost-in-customers-checkout-prices/
Darn, sure would make it easier to buy American.
I don’t really care about posting the tariffs, but this is a blatantly political move. “Let’s prove just how bad Orange Man is!”
When it fact it just highlights the fact that China refuses to reduce their own tariffs, stop stealing proprietary information and refuses to respect patent law, all part of the reason they can undercut other countries’ prices.
I am so over voluntarily buying Chinese goods anyway; having to be my own quality control department by buying AMZ or Temu crap, getting it, seeing that it doesn’t work or isn’t as described and then sending it back… the original cheapness does not compensate me for the time and frustration this causes.
Sadly, too many things are only made in the PRC anymore; I hope stiff tariffs changes this.
Sure, Amazon, tell me all about it. Right after you admit country of origin up front.
Display at the top: “Made in China”
Oh no! That would be too many items. Instead, provide a list of the five or six items that are not made in China.
Find more information at Chinamazon.com
If that was supposed to be real, it doesn’t work for me.
of course the showing of the tariff is a directive against trump
I have seen the same in stores across the country
the leftist are divisive and of course anti american
When people protest or riot against higher taxes IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD …the msm is sympathetic towards those people but not so in america..its seen as the evil of capitalism against “the people”
there should be no income tax
just a flat tax
then THAT IS EQUALITY
these current tariffs are reciprocal
so we were paying the “taxes” higher prices and dont forget about UNIONS IN AMERICA as their agenda is not free market so it imposes higher prices via artificial means
All of a sudden a lot of readers of LI want more government regulation.
I bought a SUP a few months ago. Came with a very large and sturdy plastic/paper tag telling me how much of my SUP was made from recycled plastic, which was a waste of plastic and paper. Is that what you want?
What part of this is more regulation?
Unless it’s safety related, government should not be involved in mandating labeling, nor fighting labeling chosen by private companies. (It should prohibit fraud, however.)
You still aren’t showing how “objecting to” is the same as regulating. I assume because you know its not the same at all.
Nation of origin seem reasonable. As would specific definitions of common phrases to describe/sell a product: fresh, never frozen, organic, natural. Basically make it easier for consumers by following conventional common understandings of these phrases when used. If a company doesn’t want to use these phrases they can avoid the requirements.
it only applied to its discount site
Wait. There’s a discount on Amazon prices somewhere?!?
Yeah, I think this is a misstep by the administration. It might be a case of “Oh no, Mr Brer Fox, don’t throw me in the briar patch!” But this is one where they should have just left things alone, and let the bloggers and ‘influencers’ and such start pointing out how much China is undercutting everyone else. “Oh hey, you were going to pay 58¢ for this product, and now it’s $2. Go ahead and rage; I’ll wait.”
Gotta say, this is the first I’ve ever heard of Amazon Haul, but it’s real.
It’s obviously Amazon’s answer to Temu.
I’d never heard of Amazon Haul either and I buy regularly from the site. They sure aren’t advertising it well enough. I did just buy a $75 chainsaw from Temu to see if it works. My expectations are not high but who knows. Usually you can swap out OEM parts so it gives me a cheap way to work on a saw for practice.
It’s obviously Amazon’s answer to Temu.
Which is kinda like calling a pro baseball player “the Rangers’ answer to T-ball.”
Ouch.
Cmon, there’s a lot of lawyers here.
Saying it ‘wasn’t approved’ is NOT the same thing as saying they weren’t planning on doing it.
Seems to me Bezos told them to plant this story as a trial balloon to test it and the backlash was so severe they immediately backed away.
I have seen imbeciles saying “Oh my God, my bottle of wine will go up 50%.”
No, it will not. And if it does you are being ripped off.
Tariffs are calculated based on the declared value of the goods at the point of import, which is only a fraction of the retail price. Then you need to add other costs like marketing, transportation, storage, labor, payroll, commissions, regulatory compliance, profit margins, etc.
So please stop panicking.
Or buy domestic wines which won’t carry a tariff cost, plenty to choose from….or switch to a nice bourbon made in the USA or avoid alcohol, get a dog and go for a walk.