Amazon cancels orders for goods made in China and other Asian countries — Bloomberg
Amazon is trying to adapt to tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, and as a result is being forced to cancel orders for goods made in China.
Amazon is trying to adapt to tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, and as a result is being forced to cancel orders for goods made in China.
This was reported by Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The orders for beach chairs, scooters, air conditioners and a host of other items from multiple Amazon suppliers were canceled without warning after Trump announced on April 2 that he planned to impose tariffs on more than 180 countries and territories, including China, Vietnam and Thailand. The timing of the cancellations led sellers to suspect that they were a response to the tariffs.
It is currently unclear how widespread these cancellations are and how many types of products they affect.
One seller who has been selling Chinese-made beach chairs on Amazon for more than a decade received an email last week from the company saying it was canceling some purchase orders he had placed «in error» and instructing the seller not to ship them. Amazon made no mention of Trump’s tariffs.
The seller said the $500,000 bulk order was canceled after the chairs were already made, forcing the person to pay the factory and find other buyers. The seller, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from Amazon, said the company has never canceled any of its orders in this way.
Other sellers are reporting similar incidents.
«Amazon really holds all the trump cards. The only real way out for sellers is to either sell this inventory in other countries with a lower markup, or try to work with other retailers,» the founder and CEO of pdPlus commented on the situation.
Amazon is reportedly canceling «direct import orders,» a process in which Amazon buys goods in bulk in the country where they are manufactured and ships the products to its warehouses in the U.S. Amazon is the importer of record for these orders, meaning it pays tariffs when the goods arrive at U.S. ports.
Amazon has been importing goods this way for years to reduce costs because it can often use bulk shipping rates to import goods at lower prices than sellers. Canceling these orders places tariff risks on suppliers if they import goods into the U.S. through other means.
The products Amazon buys directly from sellers account for about 40% of the products sold on its website. The rest of the company’s sales are made by independent sellers, who essentially rent Amazon’s marketplace, paying the company commissions and fees for logistics and advertising.
Trump previously imposed a 54% tariff on China, but later said he was willing to reconsider the decision if he was offered something «phenomenal.» China could receive a waiver if the deal to sell a stake in TikTok to the US is approved.
But instead, China announced that it would impose additional tariffs of 34% on all American goods starting April 10. The trade war only gained momentum later — the White House announced that it would increase tariffs on imports of goods from China by an additional 50%, now the final rate will be 104%. China will retaliate by imposing tariffs of 84% on American goods.
Recall that the tariff war unleashed by Donald Trump affects about 60 countries around the world, including Ukraine, and even a deserted island with penguins. It has also reached countries where Apple manufactures and supplies components for its iPhone, iPad and Mac, which has caused the company’s shares to fall by 7%.
Trump also signed an executive order closing a loophole for cheap goods from China, which takes effect on May 2. Previously, packages worth up to $800 enjoyed a «minimal» exemption from additional duties, allowing foreign online retailers like Temu and Shein to sell super-cheap goods to American consumers.
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