[Source / Observer Network, Xiong Chaoyi] On April 29th local time, the emerging US media Punchbowl News 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.
According to reports from Politico and the Financial Times on the same day, this news immediately drew strong criticism from the White House. At a press conference for journalists in the morning, White House Press Secretary Leavitt referred to the plan considered by Amazon as so-called "hostile and political behavior," and asked, "Why doesn't Amazon do this when the Biden administration has raised inflation to its highest level in 40 years?"
However, later in the afternoon, President Trump told reporters that he had spoken with Amazon founder Bezos, who "quickly resolved the issue and did the right thing." Trump also highly praised Bezos, giving him full face value.
At the same time, Amazon quickly responded, stating that only the team behind its low-cost e-commerce platform Amazon Haul had considered the idea of "listing additional costs in prices," but it was not approved or implemented, and neither would the main Amazon shopping site do so. On the same day, after seeing Amazon criticized by the White House, another major US retail giant, Walmart, responded to US media, saying that the company "will not detail the composition of product costs on its official website."
White House Press Secretary Leavitt, US media photo, April 29th.
Reportedly, at the White House press conference that day, a journalist mentioned Amazon's issue, pointing out that Amazon was considering marking the extra costs caused by Trump's additional tariffs next to its products. "Isn't this obvious? In the end, American consumers are paying for it, not China."
In response, White House Press Secretary Leavitt immediately stated: "I just spoke with the president about Amazon's issue, and this is Amazon's hostile and political behavior." She also asked, "Why doesn't Amazon do this when the Biden administration has raised inflation to its highest level in 40 years?"
When asked about the relationship between President Trump and Amazon founder Bezos, Leavitt essentially avoided the question. "I won't talk about the president's relationship with Jeff Bezos," she said. "But I will tell you that this is certainly Amazon's hostile and political behavior."
Before Leavitt condemned Amazon, Trump had mentioned Bezos in an interview published in The Atlantic this week: "He's a hundred percent good person, he's great."
Late that evening, Politico cited sources close to the matter, reporting that Trump had already spoken with Bezos. Later in the afternoon, Trump himself confirmed this and said that the company "quickly withdrew this proposal." "Jeff Bezos is very great," Trump said. "He's great, he quickly solved the problem, he did the right thing, he's a good person."
Meanwhile, Tim Doyle (Tim Doyle), a spokesperson for Amazon based in Seattle, responded: "The team behind the low-cost e-commerce platform Amazon Haul had considered listing import fees for certain products, but Amazon's main website has never considered this and no measures have been implemented on any of Amazon's assets." The spokesperson added: "This was never approved and will not happen."
Amazon's low-cost e-commerce platform Amazon Haul, data photo.
Politico noted that using the "minimum" tariff exemption policy, Amazon Haul has previously sold low-cost consumer goods shipped directly from Chinese warehouses. However, apart from imposing high tariffs on China, the Trump administration has announced that as of May 2nd, it will terminate the tax-free treatment for small parcels imported from mainland China and Hong Kong, i.e., the de minimis threshold.
Early in Trump's first term, he frequently criticized Bezos and accused the billionaire of acquiring The Washington Post to gain "political influence." Bezos had also criticized Trump as a "threat to democracy." However, now, Bezos has repaired his relationship with Trump, and was even invited to attend his presidential inauguration earlier this year.
In addition, Amazon donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund and paid $40 million for a documentary about Melania, the First Lady of the United States. According to several informed sources, about $28 million of this will go directly to Melania.
According to a report by US media Axios on April 29th, after rival Amazon considered "marking additional costs in prices" and was criticized by the White House, a spokesperson for another major US retail giant, Walmart, stated that the company "will not detail the composition of product costs on its official website." The spokesperson emphasized that despite the uncertainty brought by Trump's tariff policies, Walmart was "working hard to maintain the lowest possible prices for as many products as possible."
The Walmart spokesperson also emphasized to Axios on the same day: "We are working closely with suppliers and merchants to simplify the pricing system for our trusted consumers, handling these complex tasks on their behalf."
Previously, according to a report by the South China Morning Post on April 29th, after the escalation of the Sino-US trade dispute led to a sharp reduction in freight volume, in recent days, Walmart and other major US retailers have notified some manufacturers in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces of China to resume shipments.
A Walmart shopping supermarket in the United States, data photo.
"Our long-term partner Walmart has notified us to start shipping to the US, and we do not need to bear the additional costs of new tariffs on Chinese goods." On April 28th, a vice president of a large stationery and office supplies exporter in Ningbo revealed that they had received notifications from Walmart requiring them to restore normal shipments to the US. The company stated that the cost of new import tariffs will be borne by American customers. Additionally, at least one exporter in Jiangsu also received notices of demand recovery for inventory.
According to a report by the Ming Pao on April 26th, during the ongoing 137th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair), several exporters also mentioned that after Walmart, Home Depot, Target, and other major retail giants met with US President Trump on April 21st, Walmart has notified Chinese suppliers to resume sending goods that were temporarily halted due to the tariff war at the beginning of the month, with the tariffs borne by American buyers.
On March 11th, regarding Walmart's request for Chinese suppliers to significantly reduce prices, relevant departments of China's Ministry of Commerce and others held talks with Walmart to understand the situation. Some experts pointed out that Walmart's move might violate commercial contracts and disrupt normal market trading order.
Huang Kai (a pseudonym), a non-standard category supplier for Walmart, previously told the Observer Network, "It is immoral for suppliers and consumers to bear the cost of America's tariff policies against China. Walmart cannot completely ignore this. Such actions will definitely meet resistance and will not work."
On April 24th, He Yudong, spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce, responded to the US claim of "tariff cooling": "The US abuse of tariffs violates basic economic laws and market rules. It not only fails to solve the US's own problems but also seriously disrupts the international trade order, interfering with enterprises' normal operations and people's daily lives and consumption. This has been strongly opposed by the international community and within the US. 'To untie the bell, one must find the one who tied it,' the unilateral tariff measures were initiated by the US. If the US really wants to solve the problem, it should face the rational voices of the international community and domestic parties, completely cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China, and find solutions through equal dialogue."
This article is an exclusive piece by the Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7498911234285126195/
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