Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wants to know whether Amazon founder Jeff Bezos received any “promises or favors” from President Donald Trump in exchange for his “subservience” after dropping all plans to show customers the cost of tariffs. In a letter sent on Wednesday, Warren questions Bezos about the details of his conversation with Trump and raises concerns “about the potential for tariff-related corruption.”
On Tuesday, Trump called Bezos to complain after a Punchbowl News report said that Amazon planned on showing the cost of tariffs right next to a product’s total price. Amazon later issued a statement saying that displaying tariff prices “was never approved and is not going to happen,” adding that the company only “considered” showing the fees on its Haul store, which ships products directly from China. Trump then told reporters that Bezos is “very nice” and “solved the problem very quickly,” as reported by The New York Times.
Warren says Bezos’ conversation represents “another example of Big Tech working together with President Trump to seek special favors or support his policies.” She also criticizes Amazon’s move not to show the impact of tariffs on its products.
“If Amazon had followed through on any plans to provide transparency on tariff costs, it could have provided important information for consumers, allowing them to find out for themselves some of the true costs of President Trump’s broad and chaotic tariff policies,” Warren writes.
Amazon spokesperson Tim Doyle told The Verge that “the claims in this letter are inaccurate,” while reiterating the company’s previous statement.
In her letter, Warren also presses Bezos for more details about Amazon’s plans to show the cost of tariffs before his conversation with Trump, as well as when exactly the company decided to change plans. Warren also asks if Trump threatened Bezos with “adverse policy consequences” if Amazon followed through on showing the impact of tariffs, and if the president promised any concessions or exemptions from tariffs upon reversing the plan.
Warren sent Apple CEO Tim Cook a similar letter after Trump announced tariff exemptions for smartphones and other electronics.
Update, April 30th: Added a statement from Amazon.
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