Should businesses show tariff costs? What poll found after Amazon considered it

Brendan Rascius, The Charlotte Observer on May 8, 2025

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Most Americans feel that businesses should display tariff costs in their pricing, according to a new poll, which was released after one of the nation’s largest retailers contemplated such a policy.

In the latest Economist/YouGov survey, 61% of respondents said that companies should show “how much of a purchase price goes toward paying tariffs.” Just 17% said they should not do this, and 22% said they were not sure.

The question elicited mixed reactions from across the political spectrum.

Among Democrats, 80% said they favored showing tariff costs in pricing, while just 6% opposed it. Similarly, 61% of independents supported the idea, while 17% were against it.

Meanwhile, less than half of Republicans, 42% — but still a plurality — expressed support for the idea, while 32% said they were opposed.

Additionally, 78% of respondents said they believed President Donald Trump’s tariffs would slightly or significantly increase the price of goods they buy. Just 8% said they would have no effect, and 5% said they think tariffs would lead to price decreases.

The poll was conducted with 1,850 U.S. adults between May 2 and 5 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

It comes after an April 29 Punchbowl News report that stated Amazon was planning to show how Trump’s tariffs — currently levied on imports from most countries, especially those from China — are affecting their products’ prices.

“The shopping site will display how much of an item’s cost is derived from tariffs — right next to the product’s total listed price,” the outlet reported.

That same day, Trump called Jeff Bezos, the founder of the Seattle-based e-commerce giant, to complain about the proposed policy, according to CNN.

The president later confirmed the call took place, telling NBC News that Bezos was opposed to the move and reversed course “immediately.”

In a statement released on April 29, Amazon said, “The team that runs our ultra low cost Amazon Haul store considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products. This was never approved and is not going to happen.”

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