Donald Trump has a variable strategy when it comes to tariffs, imposing or removing them as it suits him, but he avoids discussing the impact these import taxes have on the prices that American consumers must pay. On Tuesday, in a press conference, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt accused Amazon of carrying out a “hostile and political act” after announcing plans to reflect in its product prices the portion corresponding to tariffs imposed by the president.
Following this attack, Trump called Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, who, according to the company, dismissed the proposal, clarifying that it had not been approved and would not be implemented. During her remarks, Leavitt argued that Amazon had not taken such a measure when the Biden administration drove inflation to its highest level in 40 years, a claim that lacks merit, as the inflation under Biden was not a result of tariff policies, but other economic factors.
In her remarks, Leavitt also referenced a four-year-old Reuters article, which reported that Amazon had collaborated with a Chinese propaganda outlet. The story, dating back to 2021, referred to an incident where Amazon blocked negative reviews of a book containing speeches by Chinese President Xi Jinping. However, this issue has no relevance to the current trade war.
The press conference also included a question to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about the impact of the tariffs and whether, in fact, American consumers were bearing the cost. However, Leavitt chose to respond herself, launching another attack on Amazon and avoiding comments about Trump’s personal relationship with Bezos.
It is worth noting that Amazon donated one million dollars to Trump’s inauguration, and Bezos has tried to soften his relationship with the Republican by even manipulating the editorial line of the Washington Post. Despite these efforts, the president continued to attack Bezos over the leaked information about Amazon’s plans, published by Punchbowl News.
In this context, Amazon quickly caved to government pressure and announced it would not move forward with the change. A company spokesperson stated that while the Amazon Haul team had considered reflecting tariffs in the prices of certain products, the idea had not been approved or implemented on any of its platforms.
The tariffs imposed by Trump, particularly on Chinese goods, have already raised the prices of hundreds of items sold by Amazon. Moreover, the president’s erratic trade policies have had disastrous effects, such as a record surge in imports during the first quarter, while the U.S. trade deficit reached historic highs.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has acknowledged that the current levels of tariffs, which average 145% on many Chinese products, are unsustainable. Some companies have managed to get exemptions or reductions on these tariffs after applying pressure on the government. As for companies like Temu and Shein, which benefited from tax exemptions on small shipments of products from China, they now face a 120% increase in tariffs.
At the same time, the Treasury Secretary also announced that the administration would ease tariffs on automotive components, another adjustment by Trump aimed at mitigating the negative effects of his trade war. The president himself later confirmed this change, which will also have retroactive effects.
The impact of the tariff policies has led many companies to adjust their earnings forecasts, while consumer confidence and inflation expectations have plunged. On Wednesday, the Department of Commerce will release its first estimate of U.S. GDP for the first quarter, and economists expect a significant slowdown in economic growth, which until recently was the envy of the world.
