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.
If correct, Amazon’s decision to display the cost of the tariffs follows the company’s alleged attempts to mitigate that impact. According to the Financial Times, Amazon has been pressuring its suppliers to cut prices, in order to limit the effect of the tariffs.
Amazon sellers pull out of Prime Day
Then according to Reuters, consultants representing hundreds of Amazon suppliers say that their clients have been pulling out of Prime Day. They are reportedly reluctant to commit to Prime Day’s usual discounts because of the uncertainty over the tariffs.
There has been no comment from Amazon on either the Prime Day impact, nor concerning the display of tariff costs.
While the reported move has angered the White House, it actually comes just two months after what was seen as an attempt to curry favor with Trump. Since February 2025, Amazon Prime has added every season of his “The Apprentice” show to its catalog.
Amazon Prime, like all streamers other than Apple TV+, regularly alters its library, but adding this show to the US and perhaps particularly the Canadian libraries is another indication of Trump support from Amazon head and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos.
He previously donated $1 million 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 alone 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.