Amazon appears to be feeling the squeeze from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Reportedly, like many retailers, Amazon and its vast network of third-party sellers stocked up on inventory ahead of Trump’s tariff rollout last spring, but those buffers were gone by the fall, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a CNBC interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“So you start to see some of the tariffs creep into some of the prices, some of the items,” he said. “Some sellers are deciding that they’re passing on those higher costs to consumers in the form of higher prices, some are deciding that they’ll absorb it to drive demand and some are doing something in between.”
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Jassy’s comments align with findings from outside researchers who argue that tariff costs tend to filter through supply chains. Recently, a German study found that Americans were footing the bill for Trump’s tariffs. Reportedly, the Kiel study said American importers and wholesalers are first hit by the tariff cost, followed by manufacturers and retailers. Those businesses then must decide whether to absorb the added expense or pass it along, with American consumers ultimately facing higher prices — both for imported goods and for U.S.-made products that rely on foreign inputs.
The White House, however, has remained firm in arguing that tariffs are not paid by Americans.
“The average tariff imposed by America has increased by almost tenfold under President Trump, and inflation has continued to cool from Biden-era highs,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.
“The Administration has consistently maintained that foreign exporters who depend on access to the American economy, the world’s biggest and best consumer market, will ultimately pay the cost of tariffs, and that’s what’s playing out,” he added.
This is not the first time Amazon has clashed with the Trump administration over tariff policy. Earlier, the retail giant reportedly drew the president’s ire after plans surfaced to display how tariffs were affecting prices.
More broadly, the dispute reflects a familiar tension between trade policy goals and real-world market dynamics. Tariffs are often framed as strategic tools meant to strengthen domestic industry or rebalance global trade relationships, yet their effects ripple unevenly through supply chains. Large retailers, smaller sellers, manufacturers, and consumers all respond differently, making the ultimate economic impact difficult to isolate or predict with certainty.
The situation also highlights how globalized commerce can complicate attempts to neatly assign costs or benefits. Modern supply chains are deeply interconnected, meaning price pressures can emerge indirectly and gradually rather than as immediate, visible shocks. That complexity allows competing narratives to persist, with policymakers pointing to macroeconomic indicators while businesses focus on operational realities and consumer behavior.
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At a broader level, the episode underscores how trade debates increasingly play out in public, with corporations, governments, and researchers all vying to shape perceptions. As inflation, consumer confidence, and geopolitical competition remain central concerns, disagreements over who ultimately bears the burden of tariffs are likely to continue.
The outcome will depend less on rhetoric and more on how markets adjust over time. Consumer choices, corporate pricing strategies, and global sourcing decisions will collectively determine whether trade measures achieve their intended goals or produce unintended consequences that reshape economic relationships in lasting ways.