Trump complained to Bezos before Amazon said it scrapped idea to display tariff cost

President Donald Trump personally called Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on Tuesday to complain about about a report that the online retail giant was considering displaying U.S. tariff costs on its product listings, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News.

Within hours of the call, Amazon publicly downplayed the scope of its plan — and then announced that it had been scrapped entirely.

The pressure campaign on Bezos by Trump and the White House came after Punchbowl News reported earlier Tuesday that Amazon will soon show consumers how much of an item’s cost comes from tariffs.

The amount added as a result of tariffs will be displayed right next to each product’s total listed price, a person familiar with the plan told the news outlet.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to the report by torching Amazon over what she called “a hostile and political act.”

“Why didn’t Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?” Leavitt asked.

She added, “This is another reason why Americans should buy American.”

Amazon shares dropped more than 2% in premarket trading immediately following the remarks. By noon, the stock had recovered its losses.

Less than two hours after the press briefing, an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC that the company was only ever considering listing tariff charges on some products for Amazon Haul, its budget-focused shopping section.

“The team that runs our ultra low cost Amazon Haul store has considered listing import charges on certain products,” the spokesperson said. “This was never a consideration for the main Amazon site and nothing has been implemented on any Amazon properties.”

But in a follow-up statement an hour after that one, the spokesperson clarified that the plan to show tariff surcharges was “never approved” and is “not going to happen.”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in an X post called Amazon’s statement a “good move.”

A journalist in Tuesday’s press briefing teed up Punchbowl’s report to Leavitt and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, asking if they agreed that Amazon’s move was a “crystal-clear demonstration that it’s the American consumer, and not China, who is going to have to pay for these policies.”

Leavitt opted to respond because, she said, she “just got off the phone with the president about Amazon’s announcement.”

She said the company’s decision was “not a surprise,” saying Reuters “recently” wrote that Amazon has “partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm.” She then held up a print-out of a Reuters report from December 2021 that Amazon complied with an edict from Beijing’s government that it remove customer reviews and ratings from a book of Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s speeches and writings.

Amazon is not the first retailer to put a spotlight on how new tariffs are changing its prices.

China-based fast fashion giants Shein and Temu have both added massive surcharges in recent days. Temu now includes a line on its checkout tally showing an “import charge” that adds around 145% for each item.

The Trump administration’s response to Amazon came as Bezos has joined other billionaires and tech leaders in cozying up to the Republican president since he won the 2024 election.

After frequently catching Trump’s ire in years past, Bezos in December expressed optimism about the Republican’s second term, saying he believes Trump has grown calmer and more confident.

The same month, Amazon donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. Bezos later attended Trump’s inauguration.

Bezos drew further accusations of seeking to court Trump when he forced the Washington Post, which he owns, to restrict its opinion section to publishing only pieces in defense of “personal liberties and free markets.”

But Amazon’s business has come under strain in the face of Trump’s sweeping tariffs plans — especially his 145% duty on China, where up to 70% of Amazon goods are sourced, according to Wedbush Securities.

As Amazon merchants have started hiking prices on a wide array of goods in response to the tariffs, the company has started emailing the sellers to gauge the impact of Trump’s agenda.

Leavitt, after delivering her statement on Amazon, was asked if Bezos is “still a Trump supporter.”

“Look, I will not speak to the president’s relationships with Jeff Bezos, but I will tell you that this is certainly a hostile and political action by Amazon,” she said.

— CNBC’s Annie Palmer and NBC News’ Garrett Haake contributed to this report.