President Trump's battle vs Amazon moves on. Now President Trump is creating a new task force to evaluate the operations and finances of the United States Postal Service. The new task force will review "the expansion and pricing of the package delivery market and the USPS's role in competitive markets."
Trump has repeatedly made attacks on Amazon for abusing the U.S. Postal Service. This was a move that was abruptly announced by the White House on Thursday. He has claimed that Amazon has a negative impact on the U.S. Postal Service.
The task force has been put in place to seek recommendations for “administrative and legislative reforms.”
Per Washington Examiner:
According to the executive order, the U.S. Postal Service has been hit with a total of $65 billion in losses since the 2007-2009 recession.
The task force will evaluate “the decline in mail volume and its implications for USPS self-financing and the USPS monopoly over letter delivery and mailboxes,” the operation’s business model, and the role the U.S. Postal Service plays in the U.S. economy and rural areas.
“It shall be the policy of my Administration that the United States postal system operate under a sustainable business model to provide necessary mail services to citizens and businesses, and to compete fairly in commercial markets,” the executive order says.
While the executive order makes no mention of Amazon, Trump has repeatedly railed against the retail giant, arguing it causes the U.S. Postal Service to “lose $1.50 on average for each package for Amazon” by delivering packages for the company at a discounted rate.
The statistic is pulled from a Citigroup research report from April 2017 that argues the U.S. Postal Service could pay its expenses if it lifted the average package delivery rate.
Is this an abuse of power by President Trump or is Amazon legitimately destroying the U.S. Postal Service? Amazon uses the U.S. Postal Service to ship about 40% of their packages, according to NPR. The Postal Regulatory Commission comes up with the rate Amazon receives for shipping.
Whether or not Amazon is the root of the issue, the USPS certainly needs to be overhauled. They are most certainly on an unsustainable financial path.
Reactions from Twitter:
It’s gotta infuriate Trump that Comey’s book will be shipped to people via a AMAZON.
— Pablo Kutter (@Mossimo77) April 12, 2018
Amid ongoing public targeting of Amazon's use of the U.S. Postal Service, President Trump orders an evaluation of the USPS in executive order: "The USPS is on an unsustainable financial path and must be restructured to prevent a taxpayer-funded bailout." pic.twitter.com/EAueURuKSy
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 13, 2018
If Trump wants to go after a tech company, Facebook or Google are much better options than Amazon. People actually like Amazon's services, especially their home deliveries.
What they don't like is Big Tech's invasion of privacy and censorship.
— Scott Greer (@ScottMGreer) April 13, 2018
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