Amazon has shared that it never considered adding tariff price increase labels to its main site and only considered it for the new Amazon Haul site, which is intended to be a more direct competitor to Temu and other Chinese shopping apps.
Earlier today, a report came out in a newsletter called Punchbowl News that claimed Amazon was considering adding a new tag to its website that would show shoppers how much U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs will increase the price of an item.
This blew up online, eventually leading the U.S. press secretary to weigh in, calling Amazon “political” and “hostile” in a briefing this morning.
Amazon has now confirmed to Fortune that it was only considering the tariff pricing breakdown for the Haul section of the site. “The team that runs our ultra low cost Amazon Haul store has considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products,”said an Amazon spokesperson to the site. In a follow up, Amazon clarified by saying that the idea “was never approved and is not going to happen.”
It appears that this change was only considered for the U.S. since Amazon Haul isn’t available outside America.
Chinese importers use a trade loophole to dodge tariffs on low-cost products. The ‘de minimis’ exemption means importers aren’t required to pay fees on individual packages worth less than US$800. However, since the trade war began, Trump killed that loophole.
Temu has also had to start displaying “import fees” at checkout for U.S. customers. This doesn’t seem to apply in Canada after a brief test.
What’s particularly notable about this whole debacle is the fast and furious reaction from the Trump administration and Amazon’s nearly instant surrender. People in the U.S. government clearly don’t want major retailers sharing transparency on prices, likely because it would make it even more obvious how Trump’s tariffs raise prices for Americans. And frankly, Amazon’s rapid attempt to soothe the Trump administration is, frankly, pathetic.
In other news, Amazon announced that it’s still holding Prime Day this year, and it will be in July. There’s no exact date yet, but last year it was on July 16 and 17.
Source: Fortune
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