Amazon issues worrying warning to customers amid Trump’s global tariffs
Topics: Amazon, Money, Politics, Donald Trump, Tariffs
Mia Williams
Featured Image Credit: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
Topics: Amazon, Money, Politics, Donald Trump, Tariffs
Amazon shoppers could be faced with 'issues' following Trump's harsh tariffs, according to the CEO.
The CEO of the world’s most popular online retailer has issued a stark warning to those who value the low prices on their website.
Andy Jassy, 57, has stated that consumers could be left to deal with the aftermath of Donald Trump's new tariffs, which have sent shock waves through economies all over the world.
The boss warned that prices may be hiked to ensure the company is still making profit.
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Speaking in an interview with CNBC, Jassy noted that the tariffs are set to create 'macro issues' for your everyday spender who shops online.
"I’m guessing that sellers will pass that cost on," he said.
"And I understand why, I mean, depending on which country you’re in, you don’t have 50 percent extra margin that you can play with."
Expanding on the impact that the tariffs are set to have on Amazon directly, he said: "It’s so early right now, but we haven’t seen any change in consumer behaviour in a meaningful way yet."
It seems that the US and China are at the forefront of the tariff conversation, as China has, today (11 April), hit back at the 'Liberation Day' tariffs placed on them by the president.
The nation has chosen to place retaliatory tariffs of 125 percent on US goods, which comes after the US leader imposed 145 percent tariffs on China.
Jassy expanded on how Trump's tariffs might affect Amazon shoppers in the future.
"Well, it’s hard to know what’s really going to happen," he said.
"You know, there’s a lot of flux right now and we’re going to spend time on where we spend all our cycles trying to figure out how we have the right customer experience."
He continued: "We’re doing everything we can to try to keep prices the way they’ve been for customers as low as possible."
The CEO also spoke about why it's such a worrying time for other companies.
"I completely understand why companies are nervous right now, it’s so early," he said.
"You don’t know, but the worry, of course, when you have things like tariffs is that it’ll create macro issues where it depresses demand or drives inflation, but we just haven’t seen it yet."
He did, however, make it clear that he communicates with the Trump administration 'all the time', on a whole range of issues.
Jassy said: "We have some conversations about tariffs as well. And we share what some of the concerns are and they’re aware of them."