[Source/Observer Network, Chen Sijia] US media recently reported that Amazon is planning to display the impact of Trump's tariffs by marking the additional costs incurred in the prices of its sold products. However, this news immediately drew a fierce backlash from the White House. Press Secretary Leavitt specifically mentioned Amazon at a press conference, accusing it of implementing "hostile and political actions".

According to a report on April 30 by US Business Insider, several retail experts revealed that the White House's separate mention of Amazon sent a "warning signal" to American businesses, indicating that the Trump administration would strongly criticize any company emphasizing the negative impacts of its tariff policies, forcing retailers to avoid marking price increases caused by tariffs. However, experts pointed out that this move by the White House was merely "burying one's head in the sand", as consumers could still find the root cause of the price increase.

Niel Saunders, a retail analyst at GlobalData, stated that given the high dependence of America's supply chain on suppliers worldwide, nearly every retailer in the United States would be affected by tariffs. However, the Trump administration is very sensitive to growing opposition and is attempting to guide retailers to avoid mentioning tariffs.

He believes that the American apparel and electronics industries may face "particularly tricky problems", but after the Trump administration criticized Amazon, retailers' plans to address price increases might be thwarted. "The strong reaction towards Amazon serves as a warning signal to other companies, indicating that the U.S. government will fiercely attack any company clearly emphasizing the negative impacts of its tariff policies," he said.

On April 29 local time, White House Press Secretary Leavitt held a press conference. Visual China

Chris Walton, co-founder of the retail media platform Omni Talk Retailer, stated: "Any retailer considering taking measures according to Amazon's plan will likely immediately stop all work and related discussions."

Walton predicted that if tariffs cannot be marked separately, American retailers may allow prices to reach an "implicit level". "Given what we saw yesterday, I can't think of any solution that won't provoke anger in Washington," he said.

On April 29 local time, Punchbowl News, an emerging American media outlet, first reported that Amazon's shopping website would soon display the impact of Trump's tariffs by marking the additional costs incurred in the prices of its sold products.

Upon hearing this news, the White House immediately launched a fierce attack. At a press conference that morning, White House Press Secretary Leavitt mentioned Amazon, calling the plan mentioned in the reports "hostile and politically motivated". She also asked rhetorically: "Why doesn't Amazon do this when the Biden administration has raised inflation to its highest level in 40 years?"

Amazon quickly responded, stating that only the team behind Amazon Haul, a low-cost e-commerce platform under Amazon, had considered the idea of "marking additional costs on prices", but it was neither approved nor implemented, and Amazon's main shopping site would not do so either. After seeing Amazon being criticized by the White House, another major American retail giant, Walmart, also stated that it "would not detail the composition of product costs on its official website."

Rob Lalka, a professor at Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business, explained that American retailers have always tried to inform consumers about how prices are calculated. For instance, some American stores’ receipts note state sales tax situations. "This has always been a way to shift public dissatisfaction with rising prices away from companies and onto policies or policymakers," he said.

"Business Insider" reported that some American retailers, including Walmart and Target, have already indicated that they need to raise prices due to the impact of Trump's tariff policies.

Hong Kong South China Morning Post reported on April 29 that after the U.S. sparked a "tariff war" leading to a sharp decrease in freight volumes, Walmart and other major American retailers have recently notified some manufacturers in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces of China to resume supplies.

"Our long-term partner Walmart has informed us to start shipping to the U.S., and we don’t need to bear the extra costs of new tariffs on Chinese goods," revealed the vice president of a large stationery and office supplies exporter in Ningbo on April 28. The company received a notice from Walmart requiring them to resume normal shipments to the U.S. The company stated that the cost of the new import tariffs would be borne by American customers. Additionally, at least one exporter in Jiangsu also received a notice for demand recovery and restocking.

Niel Saunders, an analyst at GlobalData, stated that although the Trump administration is trying to "control the narrative", this measure is just "burying one's head in the sand". American consumers can still connect tariffs with price increases. He直言, if prices rise significantly, such information may become irrelevant because Americans "are very clear" about the possible impacts of tariffs.

Chris Walton of Omni Talk Retailer also pointed out: "Consumers are smart; if they see their favorite retailers raising prices, they will figure out the truth themselves and know that it may be due to tariffs." He believes that the bigger problem American retailers face now is how to set prices in the future to maintain competitiveness. "No one can guess how things will turn out," he said.

This article is an exclusive contribution from Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7499484334206894607/

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