Trump Says in Tweet Amazon Does Great Damage to Retailers

U.S. President Donald Trump once again unloaded on  Amazon, tweeting that the company is hurting other retailers and implying that it’s killing industry jobs across the U.S., according to Bloomberg.

Amazon is causing "great damage to tax paying retailers," Trump said in a Twitter post Wednesday, causing shares in the online retailer to fall. “Towns, cities and states throughout the U.S. are being hurt - many jobs being lost!“ Trump said in the tweet.

Trump’s reference to “great damage“ echoes chatter in Washington and academic circles that Amazon and other technology companies may have become too big and powerful. During the presidential campaign, Trump claimed Amazon was a monopoly that he would go after for antitrust violations if he were elected. Amazon takes about 70 percent of all e-book sales and 30 percent of all U.S. e-commerce.

While it’s unclear what prompted Trump’s tweet, The Washington Post ran a scathing editorial about Trump in the paper, and there were also pro-tax reform advertisements that ran on early morning talk shows. Trump’s tweet about jobs lands amid one of the most tumultuous years in the industry’s history. Brick-and-mortar chains, especially apparel sellers, are suffering from sluggish mall traffic and an exodus of shoppers to e-commerce.

In his tweet, Trump also hammered Amazon again on tax-related allegations. It’s unclear exactly what he means since the company now collects sales tax in each state that has one. There is one loophole left: Shoppers don’t have to pay sales tax when they buy from one of Amazon’s many third-party vendors. Such sales make up about half of the company’s volume.