WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday that he won’t approve a $10 billion loan for the U.S. Postal Service unless the agency raises charges for Amazon and other big shippers to four to five times current rates.
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“The Postal Service is a joke because they’re handing out packages for Amazon and other internet companies and every time they bring a package, they lose money on it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
The president was responding to a question about reports his administration plans to force major changes in postal operations as the price for approving a $10 billion loan that was included in the government’s $2 trillion economic rescue package.
Under the rescue package legislation, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin must approve the loan before the Postal Service can receive the money. Officials at the Postal Service had no immediate reaction to Trump’s comments.
Trump said the changes the administration will insist on will make it a “whole new ballgame” at the Postal Service. He said the Postal Service did not want to make the changes because they did not want to offend Amazon and other companies.
Looking at Mnuchin, who was with him in the Oval Office, the president said, “If they don’t raise the price of the service they give … I’m not signing anything and I’m not authorizing you to do anything.”
Mnuchin told reporters that he had Treasury officials working with the Postal Service on the terms of the loan if postal officials decide they need more money.
“We are going to post certain criteria for (a) postal reform program as part of the loan,” Mnuchin said. He said the Postal Service board is already conducting a search for a new postmaster general to run the agency and undertaking reforms of operations.
The Washington Post, which first reported the administration’s push for changes at the Postal Service, quoted unnamed officials as saying that senior Postal Service officials have been told the administration wants to use the $10 billion loan as leverage to influence how much the agency charges for delivering packages and how it manages its finances.
Trump has complained for years that the Postal Service was being exploited by Amazon and other shippers and that was the reason the agency was losing so much money.
Smart move. Now Amazon will have more reason to expand their own package delivery service.
Wait. Maybe not so smart.
What happened to charging the Chinese. Alibaba ships and USPS delivers a package from China to the USA for 35 cents. The same on Amazon $3.74 Is he afraid of China so he tries to hurt American Companies?
1. The Post Office is specifically listed in the constitution. He can’t let it go bust. Wait, Trump never respected the constitution in the first place.
2. It’s not like Amazon isn’t already curtailing it’s use of the Postal Service and utilizing it’s own delivery serilvice.
3. Businesses already receive better rates from UPS and FedEx than the Postal Service so it’s not like there’s going to be a shift to the Postal Service from companies.
4. People don’t ship parcels anymore. For the most part, they order them online and then those items are shipped by companies at those very reduced commercial rates.
5. The Postal Service is required by law to deliver to every address in the country without surcharging for residences or rural areas. Irs $0.55 to mail a letter from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Pago Pago, American Samoa. Legal mandates are pesky things, you know.
6. The Postal Service made it’s profits from first-class mail. First class mail has disappeared. Given legal constraints, there is little the Postal Service can do change it’s business model while being able to remain viable.
7. The Postal Service is the only company in the US which has to prepay it’s pension obligations 75 years in advance. No company can remain profitable under those conditions.
Don’t worry Amazon self delivery is closing July 1
Good then the men/women who work for the USPS will go work for Amazon. Heck UPS and FedEx are making money, why can’t the USPS? I’ll tell you why……….because it’s run by the government!
whatever the president is smart including pushing an untested drug
I don’t like Amazon’s delivery service; I’ve told them numerous times not to leave my packages in the front (where they can be stolen), but to leave then in the back; they are just too lazy and dumb to do so. Also, one time they gave my package to my neighbor and vice-versa. They don’t know how to read an address. They also don’t know how to properly park in the street, when delivering packages. At least, when the Post office delivers my packages, they will leave them in the back, and ring my bell. Federal Express will also leave packages in the back, as will UPS.
He ducked out of Friday Task Farce and cancelled today’s. He’s cracking up and in hiding. 53,000 dead and he’s pushing BLEACH!
Trump is the man. Hes doin great. And hes a bracha for us yidden as we all know.
Smart move by Trump. Certainly smarter than his brilliant bleach suggestion.
Trump’s only problem with Amazon is that it is owned by Jeff bezos who also owns the Washington Post which does not give the same positive coverage of trump as Fox does. For Trump it’s all about him he’s not trying to save the postal service he’s trying to get better coverage from The Washington Post
Raising Amazon’s fees will hurt everyone that sells on Amazon a well