All hell broke loose in Washington when Amazon’s short-lived proposal to display the U.S tariff cost on product listings provoked ire from the White House which allegedly deemed it “a hostile political maneuver.”
“Hostile” might be too strong a word, though polemic would work just as well. Advertisement expenses such as tariff costs disbursed by the US government are publicly displayed as taxes. Amazon displaying this cost was a bold statement on their stance regarding American policies which did not sit well with certain Administration officials who read it as an effort to sway consumer sentiment against government initiatives.
Following the unreasonable criticism, Amazon’s representatives defended themselves saying that the initiative was neither a political statement nor a scheme to undermine government policy.
Surprisingly, amid all the drama, former president Donald Trump commented saying that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos “is a good guy” which is shocking considering their somewhat strained relationship during the time Amazon decided to cancel tariff display.
This episode served to underscore the growing friction between the technology trade and government policy domains, in particular the absence of front-facing business economic propaganda trade transparency.
