menu_open Columnists
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Amazon Caves on Displaying Tariff Prices After White House Loses It

5 0
29.04.2025

Amazon was almost going to break down tariff prices on its shopping platform for consumer transparency—before the White House threw a tantrum.

Shortly after the e-commerce giant announced Tuesday that it would display tariff costs for its customers alongside its marketplace items’ original prices, Amazon balked, caving to the Trump administration’s demands that it reconsider what the MAGA leader viewed as a “hostile and political act.”

“Why did Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in four years?” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt during a press briefing, adding that “it’s not really a surprise” that Amazon would do such a thing since it has, per the Trump administration, “partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm.”

Hours after Leavitt made the accusation, an Amazon spokesperson said that the larger website had never considered such a move, instead deferring blame to one of its smaller storefronts for low-priced goods, Amazon Haul.

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

Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos made unexpected political waves when he appeared at Donald Trump’s inauguration, visually backing the president’s forthcoming administration. Since then, Bezos’s net worth—which is tied up mostly in Amazon stock—has tanked by some $36 billion as Trump has proposed a 145 percent tariff on imported Chinese goods, a move that would practically shatter Amazon’s supply chain and irreparably damage sellers on the market’s platform.

During the same press briefing, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that 18 countries have issued trade proposals to lower tariffs. Earlier this month, the White House promised to make 90 deals in 90 days to drive down predicted costs and erase the trade war, a pledge that economists argue is no less than a monumental task.

Major big box retailers have already rung the alarm bells over Trump’s paused plan. Last week, representatives from Walmart, Target, and Home Depot met at the White House to discuss concerns over Trump’s aggressive tariff plan.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday bragged about ending a military program he described as “yet another woke divisive/social justice/Biden initiative.”

But that initiative—the Women, Peace & Security program—was started by the Trump administration in 2017 after he signed a bipartisan bill authored by Kristi Noem and Jan Schakowsky. The measure was also supported at the time by Mike Waltz and Marco Rubio. Three of those four people named now work at the highest levels of the Trump administration.

“This morning, I proudly ENDED the ‘Women, Peace & Security’ (WPS) program inside the @DeptofDefense. WPS is yet another woke divisive/social justice/Biden initiative that overburdens our commanders and troops — distracting from our core task: WAR-FIGHTING,” Hegseth wrote on X. “WPS is a UNITED NATIONS program pushed by feminists and left-wing activists. Politicians fawn over it; troops HATE it. DoD will hereby executive the minimum of WPS required by statute, and fight to end the program for our next budget. GOOD RIDDANCE WPS!”

Yet in 2020, Trump-appointed Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Rath Hoffman described this same program as a worthwhile national effort.

“By recognizing the diverse roles women play across the spectrum of conflict—and by incorporating their perspectives throughout plans and operations—DOD is better equipped to promote our security, confront near-peer competitors, and defeat our adversaries,” he said.

“When we recognize the diverse roles women play as agents of change; and when we incorporate their perspectives throughout our plans and operations, we are better equipped to promote our security, confront our near peer competitors, and defeat our adversaries,” said Stephanie Hammond, another Trump Defense Department staffer. “It will help the department strengthen alliances and attract new partners by demonstrating U.S. commitment to human rights and women’s empowerment, making the United States the partner of choice.”

The program Hegseth is now vilifying was fully backed by MAGA, and it takes anyone about 30 seconds to figure that out. Another honest blunder from Hegseth—whose name has been rightfully followed by words like “embattled” and “controversy” ever since his Cabinet nomination—would be unsurprising. Or maybe he’s just lying blatantly again.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is trying to prevent Democrats from opening up inquiries into the Trump administration.

Johnson used his authority on Monday to advance a measure in the House Rules Committee that would prevent any votes on “resolutions of inquiry,” which would take away one of the few oversight tools that House Democrats have as the minority party in the chamber.

These types of resolutions are privileged, which push them to the top of the House agenda. If the majority party on a committee does not report a resolution of inquiry to the full House, the resolution can be brought to the floor without the speaker’s permission, forcing a vote.

At the moment, Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee are using one of those resolutions to demand answers from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth about U.S. attacks on the Houthis in Yemen, and about how the Pentagon is handling classified and sensitive information. Hegseth’s use of private group chats on the Signal app to discuss U.S. airstrikes in Yemen have prompted House Democrats to push for more information.

Republicans, with Johnson’s backing, have responded by pausing resolutions of inquiry until September 30, hoping that questions about “

© New Republic