Amazon Seeks Supplier Price Cuts Of Up To 30% As It Reverses Tariff Concessions: Report

According to a report from the Financial Times, Amazon.com had sped up talks by many weeks with some suppliers, while considering imposing a January 1 deadline in some individual cases, for these negotiations.

• Last year, Amazon had agreed to raise prices for some of its suppliers selling tariffed goods in a bid to limit the impact of President Trump’s tariffs, as long as they guaranteed the company minimum margins. 
• Amazon is now seeking to pull back on those concessions on the grounds that U.S. tariffs were less sweeping than first feared, according to the report. 
• The tech company is looking to offload any further trade volatility risk onto its suppliers by getting them to agree to take responsibility for paying any duties on goods they sell, as per the report.

Amazon.com (AMZN) is reportedly looking to slash its payments to its e-commerce suppliers for goods on its platform in a bid to reverse the concessions it had provided to limit the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

According to a report from the Financial Times on Tuesday that cited several vendor consultants, the tech giant has asked for discounts from its suppliers ranging from low single digits to as high as 30%.

The e-commerce company had sped up talks by many weeks with some suppliers, while considering imposing a January 1 deadline in some individual cases, the report noted.

Amazon’s alleged concession reversal comes ahead of a Supreme Court ruling expected this week about the legality of Trump’s trade tariffs.  

Amazon’s Earlier Supplier Deal

Last year, Amazon had agreed to raise prices for some of its suppliers selling tariffed goods as long as they guaranteed the company minimum margins. However, Amazon was seeking to pull back on those concessions on the grounds that U.S. tariffs were less sweeping than first feared, according to people cited in the report.

President Trump has cut back on some levies after making a series of trade deals with countries.

As per the report, Amazon said that its annual vendor negotiation cycles had not changed and there was no rigid deadline for talks. However, the report noted that Amazon said that it had begun conversations with some suppliers after tariff rates for Chinese imports were brought down at the end of October.

Through these negotiations, the tech company is looking to offload any further trade volatility risk onto its suppliers by getting them to agree to take responsibility for paying any duties on goods they sell, as per the report.

Amazon would be willing to accept smaller discounts from suppliers if they would be willing to be on the hook for paying tariffs, and also spend more on marketing and promotions, as per the people cited in the report.

“We work closely with vendors to understand all the cost pressures they’re facing — tariffs, supply chain, raw materials, labour — and factor those into negotiations,” Amazon said, as per FT.

Trump Tariffs

In 2025, President Trump announced a sleuth of tariffs on trading partners that impacted global trade relations.

The uncertainty around rates and frequent changes upended many businesses, including Amazon’s, which operates on razor thin margins in the e-commerce business.

What Are Stocktwits Users Saying?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around AMZN shares slipped to ‘neutral’ territory from ‘bullish’ a day ago. Message volumes remained ‘high’.

Shares of AMZN have gained over 11% in the past year.

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