It was reported in March this year that President Trump is no friend of Amazon with one source even saying that the president is “obsessed” with the company. He reportedly wants to go after the company and is believed to have discussed possibly altering Amazon’s tax treatment. A new report claims that the Trump has leaned on the U.S. Postal Service to double the package rates for Amazon.
Citing three unnamed sources, The Washington Post reported that President Trump has personally pushed the postmaster general to double the rates that Amazon has to pay to the U.S. Postal Service and other companies to ship its packages. It’s pertinent to mention here that The Washington Post is privately owned by Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon.
Postmaster General Megan Brennan was reportedly against the suggestion and that he told the president in private conversations last year and in recent months as well that package delivery rates are only set by contract and reviewed through an independent commission.
The report adds that the postmaster general also showed a set of slides to the president that highlighted the other companies besides Amazon that team up for deliveries to make the point that these partnerships have helped the Postal Service through its financial challenges.
A significant increase in parcel delivery rates would certainly cost Amazon billions which may lead to higher prices for customers. There has been no public comment on this story from Amazon or the White House for that matter.