Is Amazon bad for the Postal Service? Or its savior?
While the Postal Service is subject to Freedom of Information Act requests, there is an exemption in the federal law that allows it to avoid releasing particulars of its deals with private businesses like Amazon, said Kevin Kosar, vice president of policy at the R Street Institute, a nonprofit conservative-leaning think tank, who has studied the Postal Service.
Amazon’s silence about the details of its contract haven’t helped clarify matters. Spokesmen for both the Postal Service and Amazon declined to comment for this article.
A spokesman for the White House, Raj Shah, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Kosar said he considered it “wildly unlikely” that Mr. Trump has reviewed the Postal Service’s contract with Amazon and that the president is “kind of talking through his hat.” Still, he said the Citigroup analysis of the accounting of the Postal Service’s deals with companies like Amazon shouldn’t be dismissed.
There are four commissioners on the Postal Regulatory Commission, none of whom was nominated by Mr. Trump, with one vacancy. The nominations require Senate confirmation.
Mr. Kosar said he expected rates to rise. He said the commission had indicated in regulatory filings — before the flurry of tweets by Mr. Trump — that it would consider increases in shipping prices.
“It’s just a question of magnitude,” he said.
