NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon says it’s not planning to display added tariff costs next to product prices on its site — despite a report that sparked speculation the e-commerce giant would soon show the new import charges, and the White House’s fiery comments denouncing the purported change.
The Trump administration’s reaction appeared to be based on a misinterpretation of internal plans being considered by Amazon, rather than a final decision made by the company.
And even those talks were limited. Only Amazon’s Haul service — its recently launched, low-cost storefront — “considered the idea” of listing import charges on certain products, company spokesperson Tim Doyle said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. But this “was never approved and is not going to happen.”
Earlier Tuesday, Punchbowl News had reported that Amazon planned to start showing how much of each product’s cost derived from tariffs “right next to” its total listed price, citing an anonymous source familiar with the matter.
The Trump administration was quick to criticize news of the potential move. At a briefing with reporters earlier in the day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt accused Amazon of taking a “hostile and political act” — and further attacked the company by suggesting it had “partnered with a Chinese propaganda arm.”
A source familiar with the matter, who spoke of the condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that the president also called Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to complain about the reported plans Tuesday morning.
The administration seemed to change its tune following Amazon’s clarifying statement.
“Jeff Bezos was very nice. He was terrific,” President Donald Trump told reporters before leaving the White House for Michigan on Tuesday afternoon. “He solved a problem very quickly and he did the right thing. He’s a good guy.”
Bezos was one of a handful of powerful, ultra-wealthy tech titans who attended Trump’s inauguration in January — filling some of the most exclusive seats right behind the president. But Trump’s relationship with much of the corporate world has been tested since, as the tariff wars he’s launched with nearly all of America’s trading partners continue to plunge companies into uncertainty.
Trump’s tariffs — and responding retaliation from targeted countries, notably China — threaten to increase prices for both consumers and businesses. Economists warn these import taxes will hike prices for a range of goods consumers buy each day and lead to worse inflationary pressure.
Many CEOs and companies have shared weaker outlooks due to the new — and at times on-again, off again — import taxes. And some big names have already raised prices, including Amazon rivals Temu and Shein.
Earlier this month, Temu and Shein said in separate but nearly identical notices that their operating expenses had gone up “due to recent changes in global trade rules and tariffs” — both announcing price hikes to take effect last Friday (April 25).
Temu, owned by the Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings, now lists added “import charges” — which have reportedly doubled many items’ prices, although those available in local warehouses currently appear to be exempt. Meanwhile, Shein, now based in Singapore, has a checkout banner that reads, “Tariffs are included in the price you pay. You’ll never have to pay extra at delivery.”

TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party won Canada’s federal election on Monday, capping a stunning turnaround in fortunes fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s annexation threats and trade war.
After polls closed, the Liberals were projected to win more of Parliament’s 343 seats than the Conservatives. It wasn’t immediately clear, though, if they would win an outright majority — at least 172 — or would need to rely on one of the smaller parties to pass legislation.
The Liberals looked headed for a crushing defeat until the American president started attacking Canada’s economy and threatening its sovereignty, suggesting it should become the 51st state. Trump’s actions infuriated Canadians and stoked a surge in nationalism that helped the Liberals flip the election narrative and win a fourth-straight term in power.
In a victory speech before supporters in Ottawa, Carney stressed the importance of Canadian unity in the face of Washington’s threats. He also said the mutually beneficial system Canada and the U.S. had shared since World War II had ended.
“We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” he said.
“As I’ve been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country,” Carney said. “These are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so America can own us. That will never … ever happen. But we also must recognize the reality that our world has fundamentally changed.”
A defeat for the Conservatives
The Conservative Party’s leader, Pierre Poilievre, hoped to make the election a referendum on former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose popularity declined toward the end of his decade in power as food and housing prices rose.
But Trump attacked, Trudeau resigned and Carney, a two-time central banker, became the Liberal Party’s leader and prime minister.
In a concession speech and with his own House of Commons seat still in doubt, Poilievre vowed to keep fighting for Canadians.
“We are cognizant of the fact that we didn’t get over the finish line yet,” Poilievre told supporters in Ottawa. “We know that change is needed, but change is hard to come by. It takes time. It takes work. And that’s why we have to learn the lessons of tonight — so that we can have an even better result the next time Canadians decide the future of the country.”
Even with Canadians grappling with the fallout from a deadly weekend attack at a Vancouver street festival, Trump was trolling them on election day, suggesting again on social media that Canada should become the 51st state and saying he was on their ballot. He also erroneously claimed that the U.S. subsidizes Canada, writing, “It makes no sense unless Canada is a State!”
Trump’s truculence has infuriated Canadians, leading many to cancel U.S. vacations, refuse to buy American goods and possibly even vote early. A record 7.3 million Canadians cast ballots before election day.
As Poilievre and his wife cast their ballots in Ottawa, he implored voters to “Get out to vote — for a change.” After running a Trump-lite campaign for weeks, though, the Conservative leader’s similarities to the bombastic American might have cost him.
Reid Warren, a Toronto resident, said he voted Liberal because Poilievre “sounds like mini-Trump to me.” And he said Trump’s tariffs are a worry.
“Canadians coming together from, you know, all the shade being thrown from the States is great, but it’s definitely created some turmoil, that’s for sure,” he said.
Historian Robert Bothwell said Poilievre appealed to the “same sense of grievance” as Trump, but that it ultimately worked against him.
“The Liberals ought to pay him,” Bothwell said, referring to the U.S. president. “Trump talking is not good for the Conservatives.”
The Liberal way forward
Carney and the Liberals secured a new term, but they have daunting challenges ahead.
If they don’t win a majority in Parliament, the Liberals might need rely on one of the smaller parties to remain in power and pass legislation. The Bloc Québécois, which looked set to finish third, is a separatist party from French-speaking Quebec that seeks independence from Canada. Trudeau’s Liberals relied on the New Democrats to remain in power for four years, but the progressive party faired poorly on Monday and its leader, Jagmeet Singh, said he was stepping down after eight years in charge.
“This is a dramatic comeback, but if the Liberals cannot win a majority of seats, political uncertainty in a new minority Parliament could complicate things for them,” said McGill University political science professor Daniel Béland.
Until this year, foreign policy hadn’t dominated a Canadian election this much since 1988, when, ironically, free trade with the United States was the prevailing issue.
In addition to the trade war with the U.S. and frosty relationship with Trump, Canada is dealing with a cost-of-living crisis. And more than 75% of its exports go to the U.S., so Trump’s tariffs threat and his desire to get North American automakers to move Canada’s production south could severely damage the Canadian economy.
While campaigning, Carney vowed that every dollar the the government collects from counter-tariffs on U.S. goods will go toward Canadian workers who are adversely affected by the trade war. He also said he plans to keep dental care in place, offer a middle-class tax cut, return immigration to sustainable levels and increase funding to Canada’s public broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state would ban cellphones in public schools “bell to bell” beginning with the next school year under an agreement announced late Monday by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
“We’ve protected our kids before from cigarettes, alcohol, and drunk driving, and now we’re protecting them from addictive technology designed to hijack their attention,” Hochul said in announcing the plan as part of a tentative budget agreement with state lawmakers.
Hochul, a Democrat, did not immediately detail plans for the ban. Her office has previously said that schools would have some flexibility over how to implement it, with districts deciding how to store students’ devices during the school day. There would be exemptions for students who need access for medical reasons, to help with learning disabilities or because they don’t speak fluent English, she has said.
If approved, New York would join at least eight states — California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia — that have enacted measures banning or restricting students’ use of cellphones in schools. Nationally, most schools say they prohibit cellphone use except for academic purposes, but educators say the rules are difficult to enforce when students are allowed to have the devices in hallways and at lunch.
“Bell-to-bell” bans like the one Hochul described are meant to remove the distraction altogether by restricting access during school hours, often over the objection of parents who say they want to be able to reach their kids during emergency situations.
New York City, which has the largest school district in the country, last year abandoned discussions for a cellphone ban because of parent concerns.
Lawmakers are expected to begin voting on the $254 billion state budget this week.