White House Accuses Amazon of "Hostile" Tariff Price Statement
On Tuesday, April 29, the US White House harshly criticized Amazon's plan to label tariff costs on product pages, calling it a "hostile and political move." Amazon quickly denied that the plan would be implemented, clarifying that the proposal had never been approved.
According to AFP reports, US media Punchbowl News reported that Amazon was considering adding information on product pages to show the proportion of Trump administration-imposed tariffs in product prices. In response, White House spokesperson Leavitt stated at a press conference on Tuesday that this idea was "undoubtedly a hostile political act."
Amazon then responded to AFP, stating that its "Amazon Haul" team had discussed whether to publicly disclose import costs for some products, but "this proposal has never been approved and will not be executed."
The White House spokesperson further accused Amazon of having "political ties" with China, citing an article from Reuters in December 2021, which reported that Amazon had collaborated with China to establish a content platform.
In addition, Leavitt revealed that she had spoken to President Trump about the Amazon incident. According to CNN reports, Trump himself had also called Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to express dissatisfaction with the plan. Although Bezos stepped down from his management position in 2021, he remains executive chairman of the board and holds nearly 9% of the shares.
Following the Trump administration's imposition of up to 145% tariffs on most Chinese imports, several US media outlets noted that many third-party sellers on Amazon had already raised prices in anticipation of rising costs. The business sector and economists generally expected that this tax measure would significantly impact finished products and components imported from China.
Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1830779849229319/
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