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Trump attacks Amazon, again, over U.S. postal rates

Updated: Sat, Mar 31, 2018
10:33 pm
Reuters
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U.S. President Donald Trump launched his second attack in a week on Amazon.com Inc on Saturday, accusing the world`s biggest online retailer of getting unfairly cheap rates from the U.S. Postal Service and not paying enough tax.

Trump`s comments on Twitter reiterated criticisms he made on Thursday about the company. He may have been prompted by a report from news website Axios saying he was obsessed with Amazon and considering ways to rein in the company`s power, possibly with federal antitrust or competition laws.

Investor concerns about regulatory action sent Amazon shares down 3.3 percent over Wednesday and Thursday, knocking $24 billion off the company`s market value.

"While we are on the subject, it is reported that the U.S. Post Office will lose $1.50 on average for each package it delivers for Amazon. That amounts to Billions of Dollars," Trump tweeted on Saturday.

A Citigroup analysis last year showed that if the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) reallocated costs to account for the growing volume of packages it delivers, it would cost $1.46 more to deliver each package. Federal regulators, which review contracts made by USPS, have not raised any issues with the terms of its contract with Amazon.

"If the P.O. `increased its parcel rates, Amazon’s shipping costs would rise by $2.6 Billion`," Trump tweeted, although it was not clear what report he was citing. "This Post Office scam must stop. Amazon must pay real costs (and taxes) now!"

A White House spokeswoman said on Thursday the administration has no Amazon-related action at this time.

Trump also accused the Washington Post, owned privately by Amazon Chief Executive and founder Jeff Bezos, of being a "lobbyist" for Amazon.

The newspaper, a frequent target of Trump`s ire, won a Pulitzer Prize last year for its critical investigation of Trump`s donations to charities.

Amazon declined comment. The Washington Post did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)