On April 29th, Donald Trump personally made a phone call to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, complaining about a report from earlier in the day of Amazon considering displaying U.S. tariff costs on its product listings. Hours later, Amazon announced that they would be scrapping the feature entirely.
In response to the report, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded by calling the feature “a hostile and political act. Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years? This is another reason why Americans should buy American.”
Less than two hours after the report, an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC that the feature was only ever considered for some Amazon Haul products, their budget-based 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.” An hour later, the spokesperson clarified that the plan was never approved and is not going to happen.
Trump’s response to Amazon is coming as many tech leaders and billionaires, including Bezos himself, have aligned themselves with the Trump since his victory in the 2024 election. Bezos specifically caught Trump’s ire in the past, however in December he expressed optimism about his second term, saying he believes Trump is now calmer and more confident. The same month, Amazon donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, and the following month Bezos attended his inauguration.
