Amazon CEO: “Trump tariffs are starting to be reflected in product prices”

Amazon CEO first acknowledges tariff impact

Findings also show “96% of tariffs absorbed in the U.S.”

An assessment has emerged that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policy is beginning to materially push up consumer prices. The chief executive officer (CEO) of Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce company, for the first time acknowledged that price increases are appearing in some products due to tariffs.

Andy Jassy, Amazon’s CEO, said in an interview with CNBC on the 20th (local time), “We tried to keep prices low after building inventory ahead of the tariffs, but most of that stock was depleted around last fall.” He added, “Tariffs have been reflected in the prices of some items, and some sellers have decided to pass the higher costs on to consumers,” noting that “we’re starting to see more of that impact.”

CNBC said Jassy’s remarks mark a noticeable change from last year. As recently as June last year, he said of the tariff impact that “prices haven’t risen noticeably.”

Separately, research has found that 96% of the tariff costs imposed by the Trump administration were passed through within the United States. Germany’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy said on the 19th that, after analyzing trade data worth $4 trillion (about KRW 600 quadrillion), exporters absorbed only 4% of the tariff costs.

However, White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement on the 20th, “During the second Trump administration, the average U.S. tariff rate has risen nearly tenfold, but inflation has continued to cool from its peak under the Joe Biden administration.” He stressed, “The administration’s position is firm that foreign exporters seeking access to the U.S. market will bear the tariff costs,” adding, “That is what is actually happening.”

Reporter Im Da-yeon allopen@hankyung.com