Amazon Swiftly Denies Plans To Highlight Tariff Impact On Prices

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

Amid the trade war triggered by the steep tariffs imposed by the US, companies are attempting to mitigate the impact on their business by raising prices. A new report claims that Amazon was planning to add import fees to show how much these tariffs are increasing the total price of products. However, the company has now publicly refuted the report.

According to a report published this morning by Punchbowl News, Amazon doesn’t want to take the blame for increasing prices. It’s said that the e-commerce giant is planning to display just how much of a product’s cost is derived from tariffs. This information would be shown right next to the final listed price.

If Amazon were to follow through on something like this, it would mirror a similar move by Temu. According to CNBC, the discount storefront has recently added “import charges” of about 145% in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Fellow rival Shein has also increased prices, but doesn’t appear to have included import charges. A banner seen at checkout says, “Tariffs are included in the price you pay. You’ll never have to pay extra at delivery.”

Although Amazon had not announced such a plan, the White House has caught wind of the report and has called out the company. During a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that she had “just got off the phone with the president about Amazon’s announcement,” per CNBC. Leavitt went on to say that the decision “is certainly a hostile and political action by Amazon.”

Since the release of the report, Amazon has now publicly refuted the claims. “The team that runs our ultra low cost Amazon Haul store considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products,” an Amazon spokesperson told The Washington Post (owned by Jeff Bezos). “This was never a consideration for the main Amazon site and nothing has been implemented on any Amazon properties.” Amazon adds in its response post that this move was “never approved” and is “not going to happen.”

In related news, Amazon announced that Prime Day will be back in July. There may not be as many deals this time as there have been at previous times. According to Reuters, some third-party sellers are pulling out of the event to protect their profit margins amid uncertainty over tariffs.

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