New York City residents have slammed U.S.President Donald Trump for stopping Amazon from listing import charges for goods in light of new U.S. tariffs, saying that Trump is trying to hide tariff impacts on the American people.
Amazon said on Tuesday its low-cost Haul unit had considered listing import charges for goods due to new U.S. tariffs but denied looking at such a plan for its main website after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the planned move a "hostile and political act" during a press briefing with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday.
Trump called Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos to express his dissatisfaction.
Amazon said the plan was only discussed as a possibility for its low-cost platform, but was ultimately not approved.
"Well, I think it's obvious that the White House is trying to hide the ball from the American people on what they're doing. Like when I go to the store and I buy something, it says the price, and then there's a line that says sales tax 5 percent. It should say tariff tax so the American people know what's happening. And also, I would like to know what the tariffs are, so if they get rolled back, then the companies roll them back, like roll back the prices, but if they hide it, then they'll just keep the prices high forever and they're going to hurt the consumers," said Kateleen Mcdougal, a teacher in New York City.
"Amazon should put it in people's faces that the government is really on a real downward spiral," said Josh Morgan, a local marketing sales associate.
"He (Jeff Bezos) is frightened. He's afraid of being harmed by this administration. He's frightened. He's a frightened businessman," said a doorman named Ben Brown.
Local residents said they supported Amazon in displaying the added costs of additional tariffs on product pages.
"I think it's fantastic. I think it's a way of saying: hey, these are the realities and the government needs to do something about it," said Morgan.
"Oh, yeah, definitely. I think they should be more transparent on how the tariffs are actually affecting the customers and not the actual companies," said Tim Wallace, a banker.
"Absolutely, they should display it. It's transparent. They display it when it comes to sales taxes, like we need to be very clear about what it is that we are paying for. And we have to make it so that Donald Trump can't hide what he is doing. And if they hide it, if they don't list it, the American people won't know, because he's lying about what he's doing. And if they're just listening to the regular media, they're like: oh, it's not Trump's fault. Oh, it hasn't happened, when it's his tariffs are causing this damage," said Mcdougal.
"Yeah, I think it's a very good idea that they display the actual price, and then what the tariffs will do to them," said Rita Charris, a sales industry worker.
"I think they should display the costs, so people know what they're paying for. If they're paying more, they need to know why they're paying more, so they can make decisions," said Christian Douglas, a salesman.
Trump administration trying to hiding tariff impacts on American people: New York city residents
