President Donald Trump Personally called Amazon founder Jeff Bezos Tuesday to complain about a report That the online retail giant was planning to display the American price costs on its product lists, a familiar source told NBC News.
In the hours following the call, Amazon publicly minimized the scope of its plan – then announced that it had been completely deleted.
The pressure campaign on Bezos by Trump and the White House came after Punchbowl News reported on Tuesday that Amazon will soon show consumers how much the cost of an article comes from prices.
The amount added following prices will be displayed right next to the total price listed by each product, said a person familiar with the media plan.
The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to the report by reversing Amazon on what she called “a hostile and political act”.
“Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration has increased inflation at the highest level in 40 years?” Leavitt asked.
She added: “This is another reason why Americans should buy Americans.”
The white house press secretary Karoline Leavitt is holding a press article on the CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, while speaking during the daily press briefing in the Brady briefing room at the White House on April 29, 2025 in Washington, DC. Today marks the first 100 days of the second term of US President Donald Trump.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images News | Getty images
Amazon’s shares fell by more than 2% in pre-market trade immediately after the remarks. At noon, the title had recovered its losses.
Less than two hours after the press briefing, an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC that the company was Never consider only the price costs on certain products For Amazon Haul, its budget shopping section.
“The team that manages our Amazon Ultra at low cost transport store has planned to list the import costs on certain products,” said the spokesperson. “It has never been a consideration for Amazon’s main site and nothing was implemented on Amazon’s properties.”
But in a follow-up declaration one hour after this one, the spokesman said that the plan to show the price supplements was “never approved” and “will not occur”.
Commerce secretary Howard Lungick, in a post X called Amazon’s declaration, a “good decision”.
A journalist in Tuesday’s press briefing on Tuesday, the Punchbowl report in Leavitt and the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, asking if they agreed that Amazon’s decision was a “crystal demonstration that it is the American consumer, and not China, who will have to pay for these policies”.
Leavitt chose to answer because she said, she “has just won the president with the announcement of Amazon”.
She said that the company’s decision was “no surprise”, saying that Reuters “recently” wrote that Amazon “joined a Chinese propaganda arm”. She then held an impression of a Reuters report From December 2021, Amazon complied with an edict of the Beijing government that he removed the exams and the ratings of the customers of a book of Chinese president Xi JinpingSpeeches and writings.
Amazon is not the first retailer to highlight how new prices modify its prices.
Fast fashion giants based in China, Shein and Temu have both added massive surcharges in recent days. TEMU now includes a line on his cash register showing a “import costs“This adds around 145% for each element.
The response from the Trump administration to Amazon came when Bezos joined others billionaires and technology chiefs By making fun of the republican president since he won the 2024 elections.
After frequently caught Trump’s anger over the past years, Bezos in December expressed his optimism about the second term of the Republican, saying that he thought Trump grew up quieter and more confident.
The same month, Amazon made a donation of $ 1 million to the Trump inaugural fund. Bezos then attended the inauguration of Trump.
Bezos pulled other charges to try to court Trump when He forced the Washington PostTo restrict his opinion section to the publication only of documents for the defense of “personal freedoms and free markets”.
But Amazon’s activities were subjected to pressure against Trump’s pricing plans – in particular its 145% duty on China, where up to 70% of Amazon products come, according to Wedbush Securities.
As Amazon merchants started hiking price On a wide range of goods in response to prices, the company began to send an email to the sellers to assess the Impact of Trump’s agenda.
Leavitt, after delivering his statement to Amazon, was invited to Bezos “still a supporter of Trump”.
“Listen, I will not talk about the president’s relations with Jeff Bezos, but I will tell you that it is certainly a hostile and political action of Amazon,” she said.
Amazon action price, year to date
– Annie Palmer of CNBC and Garrett Haake of NBC News contributed to this report.