Amazon’s Tariff Buffer is Gone, and Prices Are Rising

Amazon’s Price War with Tariffs: Jassy Admits the Buffer is Gone

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy acknowledged that the company’s buffer against rising costs from Trump-era tariffs has been exhausted. "The inventory Amazon and third-party sellers prebought in early 2025 to keep prices low has ‘run out,’ which means ‘you start to see some of the tariffs creep into some of the prices,’" he said.

This admission comes as the Kiel Institute for the World Economy reported that 96% of tariff costs are ultimately passed to consumers.

"Some sellers are deciding that they’re passing on those higher costs to consumers in the form of higher prices."

The Trump administration’s 2024 executive order closing the 'de minimis' loophole—previously allowing small imports to bypass tariffs—has compounded the pressure.

Jassy noted, "If people’s costs go up by 10 percent, there aren’t a lot of places to absorb it." Despite this, Amazon pledged to "do everything we can to work with our selling partners to make prices as low as possible for consumers."