Biden-Harris ‘Small’ Business Administrator Working Hard … For Amazon?

While the FTC sues it for anti-competitive behavior, SBA steers business to it.

Nobody can say Small Business Administration (SBA) head Isabella Guzman doesn’t go the extra mile to accomplish her agency’s mission to “aid, counsel, assist and protect … the interests of small business.” Take, for example, the attention the Administrator has lavished on a plucky little mom & pop named Amazon.

Granted, Administrator Guzman is not the only Biden-Harris administration official who has been chummy with Amazon and its founder. Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) obtained documents showing Treasury Department officials were frequent guests of the $1.75 trillion startup, partying at the Washington, D.C. mansion of founder and owner Jeff Bezos. For her part, FOIA documents from SBA have revealed Ms. Guzman appearing at Amazon HQ and HQ2 as well as other Amazon events several times throughout her tenure, including private meetings with company executives. SBA hosted webinars to steer ecommerce to the company. In fact, Ms. Guzman is promoting Amazon as a friend of small business, even inviting Amazon to co-sponsor the SBA’s National Small Business Week.

Unfortunately, not everyone is such a strong supporter of the online retailer. Angry small business groups, such as the American Booksellers Association say that one of America’s largest companies putting its imprint on Small Business Week “raises concerns.” They’ve called on the SBA to “Dump Amazon.”

Oh, and then there’s the awkward fact that the Federal Trade Commission is currently suing Amazon for alleged anti-competitive behavior. Administrator Guzman might have read about that in The Washington Post, which Mr. Bezos also owns.

“We’re bringing this case because Amazon’s illegal conduct has stifled competition across a huge swath of the online economy. Amazon is a monopolist that uses its power to hike prices on American shoppers and charge sky-high fees on hundreds of thousands of online sellers,” said John Newman, deputy director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “Seldom in the history of U.S. antitrust law has one case had the potential to do so much good for so many people.”

“The Biden-Harris administration can’t seem to make up its mind whether Amazon is a monopolist on a mission to kill smaller competitors, a key partner of the administration, or a vital outlet for small business success,” said PPT Director Michael Chamberlain. “Nothing so far appears to deter the head of the ‘small’ business administration from hobnobbing with officials at the top of the world’s largest online retailer and helping to promote their brand to others. Perhaps Administrator Guzman and her FTC colleagues could get together to iron out the Biden-Harris administration’s schizophrenic posture toward the company.”

###