What happened
The White House lashed out at Amazon Tuesday following a report that the online retail giant planned to list the added cost from President Donald Trump's tariffs alongside product prices on its website. Trump called Amazon founder Jeff Bezos personally to complain about the idea and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called it a "hostile and political act." Amazon later said the kerfuffle was a misunderstanding.
Who said what
Amazon's discount Haul site "has considered listing import charges on certain products," but this was "never a consideration for the main Amazon site," company spokesperson Tim Doyle said in a statement. "This was never approved and is not going to happen." Bezos "was very nice," Trump told reporters Tuesday afternoon. "He solved a problem very quickly and he did the right thing. He's a good guy."
Instead of "owning" its tariff policy, the White House "bullied Amazon to keep quiet about what it will cost," The Wall Street Journal said in an editorial. Amazon did not invent that idea, The Associated Press said. Hotels and ride-share services "have long itemized added costs" for consumers.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
The White House "clearly" wants to head off any scheme that gives consumers a "regular reminder of precisely how much Trump’s tariffs are costing them personally," Aaron Blake said at The Washington Post. "But when it comes to how much Trump owns the potential economic pain ahead, that ship has apparently sailed." Denying the "tariff pain" won't make it go away, the Journal editorial board said, "but repealing the tariffs would."
-
September 1 editorial cartoonsCartoons Monday’s political cartoons include Labor Day picnic, branding strategy, and more
-
What is Tony Blair's plan for Gaza?Today's Big Question Former PM has reportedly been putting together a post-war strategy 'for the past several months'
-
When does autumn begin?The Explainer The UK is experiencing a 'false autumn', as climate change shifts seasonal weather patterns
-
Why are global postal services cutting off package delivery to the US?Today's Big Question 'Uncertainty' around new tariff rules halts small-dollar imports
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Is Amazon about to take over the grocery business?Today's Big Question Expanded delivery will present a challenge to Walmart and Kroger
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
Switzerland could experience unique economic problems from Trump's tariffsIn the Spotlight The current US tariff rate on Switzerland is among the highest in the world
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
Jaguar's Adrian Mardell steps down: a Maga maulingSpeed Read Jaguar Land Rover had come under fire for 'woke' advertising campaign
-
How is Trump's economy doing?Talking Points The latest jobs numbers suggest a slowdown in the offing
