Amazon denies planning to publish tariff costs on main site, as White House blasts ‘hostile and political’ act – as it happened

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a news article on Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos that reads "Amazon partnered with China propaganda arm". Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

5.41pm BST

Closing post

Time to recap.

Amazon has denied that it planned to show the cost of new US tariffs on products on sale on its website, after being heavily criticised by the White House.

An Amazon spokesperson has insisted that it never considered listing tariffs on its main retail site and nothing was implemented on any company site, saying:

“The team that runs our ultra low cost Amazon Haul store considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products. This was never approved and (is) not going to happen.”

Amazon commented after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed the plan to disclose tariff costs was “a hostile and political act by Amazon,” and “Another reason why Americans should buy American”.

Leavitt responded to a question from the media about a report on Punchbowl News that claimed Amazon will soon display how much of an item’s cost is derived from tariffs.

That report prompted president Trump to phone Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder, to complain, CNN reports.

She was speaking at a press briefing today, where Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that China risks losing millions of jobs unless it agrees a deal to cut tariffs soon.

Bessent told reporters:

“I think that over time we will see that the Chinese tariffs are unsustainable for China.

I’ve seen some very large numbers over the past few days that show if these numbers stay on, Chinese could lose 10 million jobs very quickly. And even if there is a drop in the tariffs that they could lose 5 million jobs.”

Bessent also said that negotations with India, South Korea and Japan are progressing well.

But we’ve seen more signs today of the economic harm caused by Donald Trump’s trade war:

• The US trade in goods deficit has widened

• Firms have cut back on job vacancies

• US consumer confidence has hit a five-year low

Companies have also been reporting the impact of new tariffs:

• HSBC raised its provisions for bad debts

• Adidas warned that the price of its goods in the US will rise

• UPS didn’t issue new financial guidance

• GM postponed a conference call with top management and investors until Thursday

• Electrolux cut its forecast for the US market this year

Updated at 5.43pm BST

5.29pm BST

Economics professor Justin Wolfers suggests, tongue-in-cheek, that the White House should show Amazon some gratitude!

Amazon offers free advertising for the Administration's signature initiative, and the White House regards this as hostile? https://t.co/bkIxOjqZaE

— Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) April 29, 2025

When I make smart decisions that make the world a better place, I'm usually proud of it, and want to tell everyone who'll listen.

— Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) April 29, 2025