US Chamber Criticizes White House Attack On Amazon

The nation’s largest business group is standing up for Amazon.

After President Donald Trump’s recent Twitter rants against eCommerce giant Amazon, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has criticized government officials for their attacks against American companies.

“It’s inappropriate for government officials to use their position to attack an American company,” said Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer for the Chamber of Commerce, according to Reuters. “The U.S. economy is the world’s most powerful because it embraces the free enterprise system and the rule of law, whereby policy matters are handled through recognized policymaking processes. The record is clear: Deviating from those processes undermines economic growth and job creation.”

Trump criticized Amazon via Twitter on March 29, writing, “I have stated my concerns with Amazon long before the Election. Unlike others, they pay little or no taxes to state & local governments, use our Postal System as their Delivery Boy (causing tremendous loss to the U.S.), and are putting many thousands of retailers out of business!”

He followed up those comments a few days later, tweeting, “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’s comments come after an Axios report revealed that the president is apparently “obsessed” with Amazon and has wondered out loud if the government could go after the company from an antitrust or competition standpoint. The report also noted that Trump’s wealthy friends have been complaining that Amazon has destroyed businesses, while his real estate friends blame Amazon for the demise of shopping malls and brick and mortar retailers. Sources stated that Trump agrees with these assumptions.

However, White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said that Trump isn’t discussing any new actions against Amazon.