Amazon Uses Tariff Labels to Promote Pricing Transparency—White House Calls Action “Hostile and Political”

A retail giant faces accusations of political bias after demonstrating the impact of tariffs.

On Tuesday, tensions erupted in Washington as the White House blasted Amazon for allegedly intending to display the price of tariffs imposed by Trump right next to online product pricing.

In a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt didn’t mince words when she referred to the action as a “hostile and political act” following her conversation with Trump about it earlier that day.

Why would Amazon take this action now that the Biden administration has allowed inflation to soar? Leavitt questioned journalists. She also accused the tech giant of supporting Chinese propaganda, which was a shocking accusation intended to portray Amazon’s efforts to promote transparency as more than just consumer-friendly.

The dispute arose from a Punchbowl News article that stated Amazon will shortly dissect product prices to demonstrate the precise amount that tariffs are raising prices. The impact of tariffs will be more apparent to consumers as this information will be displayed directly next to the entire price.

Leavitt said that she had just spoken with Trump about the matter when asked if this action demonstrated that American customers, not Chinese ones, are bearing the cost of the tariffs.