President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of the relationship between Amazon and the U.S. Postal Service on Monday, after The Washington Post ran an article critical of his handling of North Korea.
On Monday, Trump tweeted:
A Rocket has not been launched by North Korea in 9 months. Likewise, no Nuclear Tests. Japan is happy, all of Asia is happy. But the Fake News is saying, without ever asking me (always anonymous sources), that I am angry because it is not going fast enough. Wrong, very happy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018
The Amazon Washington Post has gone crazy against me ever since they lost the Internet Tax Case in the U.S. Supreme Court two months ago. Next up is the U.S. Post Office which they use, at a fraction of real cost, as their “delivery boy” for a BIG percentage of their packages....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018
....In my opinion the Washington Post is nothing more than an expensive (the paper loses a fortune) lobbyist for Amazon. Is it used as protection against antitrust claims which many feel should be brought?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018
Trump is likely referring to a Sunday article from The Washington Post which described him as being frustrated over the "lack of progress on North Korea." The Washington Post is owned by Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon. After Trump's tweets, the stock price for Amazon dropped.
The U.S. Postal Service has been losing money for years. This is due in part to the advent of email, which has been connected to a steep decline in the amount of traditional mail sent and received. In 2017, the Postal Service reportedly had a net loss of $2.7 billion.
The full details of the deal Amazon made with the post office are confidential, but the USPS has insisted that it is not losing money on the deal. In August 2017, Postal Service CFO Joseph Corbett said in a statement that "[b]y law our competitive package products, including those that we deliver for Amazon, must cover their costs."
However, it's not clear how much of a profit beyond operating costs USPS is getting from Amazon.
In December, Trump asked on Twitter why the Postal Service was charging Amazon "so little," which he said was "making Amazon richer and the Post Office dumber and poorer."
Why is the United States Post Office, which is losing many billions of dollars a year, while charging Amazon and others so little to deliver their packages, making Amazon richer and the Post Office dumber and poorer? Should be charging MUCH MORE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 29, 2017
In April, he tweeted again multiple times saying that Amazon was "costing the United States Post Office massive amounts of money for being their Delivery Boy."
I am right about Amazon costing the United States Post Office massive amounts of money for being their Delivery Boy. Amazon should pay these costs (plus) and not have them bourne by the American Taxpayer. Many billions of dollars. P.O. leaders don’t have a clue (or do they?)!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 3, 2018
That same month, Trump ordered the creation of a task force to investigate the Postal Service's finances. The creation of a task force like this is not unheard of. Former President George W. Bush had ordered something similar in 2002.
In May, The Washington Post reported that Trump had asked the U.S. postmaster general to start charging Amazon double the current rate.
