'P*ssed' Trump called Bezos after Amazon considered displaying tariff costs
30 Apr 2025

President Donald Trump reportedly vented his anger to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos over the company's proposed move to make tariff costs visible on some products.

According to two senior White House officials who spoke to CNN, Trump was "pissed" over the news and asked why a multibillion-dollar company would pass on such costs to consumers.

"Jeff Bezos was very nice. He was terrific. He solved the problem very quickly," Trump told reporters on Tuesday.

Amazon scraps plan
Call

Hours after the call, Amazon downplayed the scope of its plan and then declared that it had been completely shelved.

Trump and the White House launched a pressure campaign on Bezos after Punchbowl News reported earlier Tuesday that Amazon will soon show shoppers how much of an item's cost is due to tariffs.

According to a person familiar with the proposal, the amount added as a result of tariffs will be posted next to each product's total listed price.

White House officials criticize Amazon's potential tariff display
Official response

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed Amazon's potential move as a "hostile and political act," saying she had already discussed the issue with President Trump.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also criticized the idea, arguing it's ridiculous for a company to make it seem like tariffs have caused prices to change.

Only products not made in the US, like mangoes, would see any price changes due to the 10% tariff, he suggested.

Amazon denies implementing tariff display on main site
Amazon's clarification

An Amazon spokesperson explained to CNN that showing tariff costs was never an option for the main Amazon site and nothing had been executed on any of its properties.

However, she confirmed they had considered displaying import charges on certain products on Amazon Haul, a low-cost site it launched last year to compete with Shein and Temu in the US.

The company reiterated that the change wasn't approved and won't happen.

Schumer urges businesses to inform customers about tariff impact
Senate support

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, however, urged businesses to notify customers about how tariffs are affecting their pockets.

People deserve to know how much tariffs are draining their pocketbooks, he said.

Other e-commerce sites, including Shein and Temu, have already increased prices in light of tariff costs.

The latter has even added a new import charge that appears at checkout.