Biden Admin Tells Struggling Small Businesses To Work More With Amazon – JP
The federal government is steering small businesses to do more business with Amazon to help them recover from the economic crisis prompted by the pandemic.
The U.S. Commercial Service, a trade promotion agency, is hosting a series of “Go Global” webinars with Amazon in June to teach small businesses to access markets in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates by becoming sellers on the e-commerce behemoth. Some entrepreneurs are crying foul, blaming Amazon as the source of their woes.
Gina Schaefer opened up her first hardware store in Logan Circle, Washington, D.C., in 2003. Alongside her husband, she expanded the business to 13 locally owned hardware stores, employing roughly 300 people in the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia metro areas. She said a retailer like Amazon is the last place to which the federal government should turn to help small businesses.
“The larger Amazon has gotten, the fewer number of independent businesses we have,” Schaefer told the Washington Free Beacon. “One by one industries have been picked off by predatory pricing and overlooked government regulations to the point where starting a new business, at least in the retail sector, is nearly impossible.”
The agency’s webinars with Amazon are designed to get clients for the web giant. The lessons on offer at the June 15 event included helping businesses create Amazon Global Accounts. A follow-up webinar in July will teach entrepreneurs how to not only team up with Amazon but also with U.S. trade authorities.
“We will cover … how to sign up for a [Amazon] Global Seller Account … [and] the role the U.S. Commercial Service plays in providing comprehensive export counseling to support your global business strategy,” the event page says. “We’ll connect you … to explore free resources and government funding to support your e-Commerce and export-related activities.” – READ MORE
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