Donald Trump last night declared war on Jeff Bezos after Amazon suggested it could display the cost of tariffs alongside product price tags, writes Charlie Spiering.
The White House publicly slammed the retailer’s reported idea as press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the President saw it as a “hostile and political act” against America.
An outraged Ms Leavitt asked: “Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?” – and accused the firm of serving as a willing tool of Chinese propaganda.
“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,” she said.
Ms Leavitt was referring to a story from December 2021 which claimed Amazon partnered with an arm of Beijing’s propaganda apparatus to create a special selling portal.
It was said to have removed the retailer’s ratings system and comments for Chinese books receiving poor responses.
The report noted that former press secretary for President Barack Obama, Jay Carney, served as Amazon’s global head of lobbying and public policy operations.
He was said to have travelled to Beijing to meet Chinese officials and helped draft a briefing document on ways to satisfy their demands, it said.
The fallout is even more of a shock since relations between US business heavyweights Mr Bezos and Mr Trump – whom the Amazon boss once called a “threat to democracy” – seemed to have thawed of late.
Amazon also sued the Pentagon in 2019, claiming Mr Trump had blocked it from securing government contracts due to his hatred for the Washington Post, which is owned by Mr Bezos.
But the tech boss recently ordered Post staff to shift to the Right and was at the President’s inauguration.
Trump family members have even been invited to Mr Bezos’s wedding to Lauren Sanchez in Venice in June.
While Mr Trump argues that his tariffs will boost US industry, The Budget Lab at Yale University estimated households could face extra costs of up to $4,400 a year.
It cited the enormous retaliatory tariffs placed on China, which the White House continues to adjust, urging Beijing to negotiate.
Mr Trump’s tariffs also hit China-based shopping websites Temu and Shein, as the President eliminated the trade loophole allowing packages worth under $800 to enter the US duty free.
However, Amazon last night denied it would display the added cost of the levies next to products – a plan first reported by Punchbowl News.
An Amazon spokesman told Sky News: “The team that runs our ultra low-cost Amazon Haul store has considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products.
“This was never a consideration for the main Amazon site and nothing has been implemented.”
Mr Trump has so far introduced a blanket tariff of 20 per cent on all goods it imports from the EU, but put 25 per cent on steel, aluminium and car exports.
He also slapped a 145 per cent rate on China, sparking a global trade war.
Last night, hours after fury erupted at the White House, Mr Trump said he’d had a good telephone call with Mr Bezos, adding: “He solved the problem very quickly. Good guy.”
Photo: Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
