White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt excoriated Amazon over its decision to display the costs tariffs add to consumer purchases on its website.
The added “import charges” on Amazon’s websites conflict with President Donald Trump‘s claims that his “Liberation Day” tariffs, many of which are on a 90-day pause, would not be passed on to the public through higher prices or inflation.
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“This is a hostile and political act by Amazon,” Leavitt told reporters Tuesday morning on the 100th day of Trump’s second administration.
“Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration takes inflation to the highest level in 40 years?” she continued. “And I would also add that it’s not a surprise, because as Reuters recently wrote, Amazon has partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm. So this is another reason why Americans should buy American.”
Consumers who purchase on Amazon will see the customary shipping and sales tax prices along with the “import charges” before checking out.
Temu tariff charges are getting insane
Anything importing directly from china is 100%+ import charges pic.twitter.com/S4dzcaCVb1
— Jackie
| TikTok Shop (@jackie_startok) April 27, 2025
An Amazon spokesperson said the additional charges were not meant to be displayed on the main website but on Amazon Haul, an affordable shopping section.
“The team that runs our ultra low cost Amazon Haul store has considered listing import charges on certain products. This was never a consideration for the main Amazon site and nothing has been implemented on any Amazon properties,” the company told the Washington Post.
Amazon is not the only company that has begun showing added tariff prices to consumers as they make purchases.
Shein and Temu, popular discount e-commerce retailers based in China, have both raised prices in response to Trump’s tariffs, which have hit China the hardest.
Average beauty and health prices for Shein increased by 51% while average home and kitchen products and toys increased by 30%, according to a Bloomberg analysis. Women’s clothing increased by 8%.
Temu has begun adding “import charges” of roughly 145% in response to the tariffs, in a similar move to Amazon.
Both companies face a 120% tariff after the United States ended the “de minimis” exemption, a tariff loophole, for small packages from China and Hong Kong beginning on May 2. Trump also hit China with a 145% tariff rate despite the 90-day pause for most other U.S. trade partners.
Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon and owns the Washington Post, was among the billionaire donors to fund Trump’s inauguration and to attend the swearing-in ceremony. Amazon gave $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund and gave a $1 million in-kind donation by streaming the inauguration on Amazon Video.
Bezos currently serves as executive chairman after stepping down as CEO in 2021. As the executive chairman, Bezos strategically advises the current CEO Andy Jassy and heads the company’s board of directors.
Yet when Leavitt was questioned about Bezos’s current relationship with Trump, the press secretary demurred.
“Look, I will not speak to the president’s relationships with Jeff Bezos, but I will tell you that this is certainly a hostile and political action by Amazon,” she said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also defended the administration’s economic policies during the briefing.
“Since Jan. 20, interest rates, mortgage rates are down, gasoline and energy prices are down,” he said.