拜登總統(tǒng)最近簽署了一條行政命令,要求聯(lián)邦政府保證只購買美國境內(nèi)生產(chǎn)的產(chǎn)品。從理論上來說,這條行政命令能夠給予美國制造商和小型企業(yè)必要的刺激,幫助其中許多正掙扎求生的制造商和小型企業(yè)走出這場前所未有的經(jīng)濟危機。但是,如果美國政府想通過亞馬遜采購一切物資,那么拜登購買美國國貨的行政命令恐怕將成為一紙空文,因為這家科技巨頭已經(jīng)變得越來越依賴外國企業(yè)產(chǎn)品了。
亞馬遜越來越熱衷于擴大與外國企業(yè)的合作規(guī)模,而且在這過程中,亞馬遜往往會犧牲美國國內(nèi)合作伙伴的利益。拜登政府必須全力支持真正致力于支持美國制造業(yè)的企業(yè),用納稅人的錢購買美國國貨,實現(xiàn)“美國制造”的承諾。
毫無疑問,拜登的最新行政命令讓政府朝著重振美國制造業(yè)的正確方向邁出了一步。這條行政命令要求監(jiān)管機構(gòu)收緊對美國制造產(chǎn)品的定義,并要求管理和預(yù)算辦公室設(shè)立一個職位,監(jiān)督國貨采購。這些舉措將幫助更多美國人重返工作崗位,值得稱贊。
然而,這條行政命令并沒有解決聯(lián)邦政府采購工作越來越依賴亞馬遜的問題,而亞馬遜也在進一步努力,力圖主導(dǎo)公共部門采購。亞馬遜企業(yè)購(亞馬遜的B2B市場,政府和企業(yè)可以在這里采購辦公用品、IT產(chǎn)品等商品)已經(jīng)悄然成為了亞馬遜最賺錢的業(yè)務(wù)板塊,增長速度幾乎是公司整體增長速度的三倍。
目前亞馬遜已經(jīng)在采購方面與聯(lián)邦政府展開了合作。去年六月,美國總務(wù)管理局與亞馬遜簽訂了一份利潤豐厚的合約,旨在幫助聯(lián)邦政府在網(wǎng)上進行微采購,即購買辦公用品和其他價格較低的商品。聯(lián)邦政府微采購是一個價值60億美元的市場,亞馬遜可以從中賺取幾千萬美元的手續(xù)費。時至今日,亞馬遜更是有望涉足價值將近6000億美元的聯(lián)邦采購市場。一些商界領(lǐng)袖警告稱,放任任何一家企業(yè)主導(dǎo)公共采購都可能會導(dǎo)致產(chǎn)品采購價格升高,并制造障礙阻撓其他競爭對手進入。因此在這一問題上,確保納稅人的錢流向正確的地方比以往任何時候都更為重要。
無獨有偶,州政府和地方政府采購部門也開始越來越多地利用電商平臺滿足采購需求。美國最大的100個地方政府中,有超過40%的政府都在使用亞馬遜企業(yè)購。這可能會進一步扼殺受疫情影響的小型企業(yè)。這些企業(yè)長期依賴政府采購合同,但就在它們最承受不了價格戰(zhàn)的當(dāng)下,亞馬遜降低了它們的產(chǎn)品價格。
不幸的是,許多官員很可能會買到進口產(chǎn)品,而不是美國制造的產(chǎn)品。電商調(diào)研公司Marketplace Pulse的數(shù)據(jù)顯示,今年一月新入駐亞馬遜的商家有75%來自中國,高于去年的47%。
這一局面令人失望,但并不出人意料——這正是亞馬遜決定拋棄美國商家,直接擁抱中國工廠的結(jié)果。最近,美國眾議院反壟斷小組委員會發(fā)表了一份有關(guān)大型科技公司的報告,其中列舉了亞馬遜高管之間的電子郵件往來。這一郵件證實了美國第三方企業(yè)相當(dāng)長一段時間以來所懷疑的事情。一位員工自豪地談到了“更快”招攬中國商家一事,并且想要掩蓋“中國商家蜂擁而來”對美國商家產(chǎn)生的更為廣泛的影響。這清楚地表明,亞馬遜的決策者明白,公司的策略削弱了美國亞馬遜商家和美國制造商的競爭力,同時也扼殺了就業(yè)機會。
拜登的計劃應(yīng)該要求政府從經(jīng)審查的美國商家和制造商處購買所有產(chǎn)品,而不是允許政府在亞馬遜的B2B市場上不受約束地進行采購。除外國商家?guī)淼拿黠@安全隱憂外,亞馬遜優(yōu)先考慮中國制造商的舉措也迫使美國商家(通常是依法納稅并支持國內(nèi)員工的小型企業(yè))不得不從海外工廠購買產(chǎn)品,因為他們沒有其他采購選擇。
作為一名曾為這個國家服務(wù)過的前海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊成員,我很感謝制造商和商家所做出的重要貢獻,他們在全美創(chuàng)造了幾百萬高薪工作崗位,保證了美國的繁榮昌盛。確保亞馬遜上的商家從美國制造商處購買產(chǎn)品,將促使更多就業(yè)機會回流美國,同時也有助于我們刺激國內(nèi)經(jīng)濟增長。
眼下我們面臨著一條漫長的復(fù)蘇之路。拜登總統(tǒng)“購買美國國貨”的計劃和其他類似舉措可以幫助美國制造商、企業(yè)和工人渡過難關(guān),變得更加強大。但是,要想真正點燃經(jīng)濟增長,我們必須確保政府資金真正用于重建美國國內(nèi)的制造業(yè)。我們不妨從亞馬遜開始,著手解決這個問題。(財富中文網(wǎng))
杰森?博伊斯(Jason Boyce)著有《亞馬遜叢林》(The Amazon Jungle),是亞馬遜托管服務(wù)機構(gòu)Avenue7Media創(chuàng)始人,此前曾連續(xù)18年入選亞馬遜商家榜前200名。
譯者:錢功毅
拜登總統(tǒng)最近簽署了一條行政命令,要求聯(lián)邦政府保證只購買美國境內(nèi)生產(chǎn)的產(chǎn)品。從理論上來說,這條行政命令能夠給予美國制造商和小型企業(yè)必要的刺激,幫助其中許多正掙扎求生的制造商和小型企業(yè)走出這場前所未有的經(jīng)濟危機。但是,如果美國政府想通過亞馬遜采購一切物資,那么拜登購買美國國貨的行政命令恐怕將成為一紙空文,因為這家科技巨頭已經(jīng)變得越來越依賴外國企業(yè)產(chǎn)品了。
亞馬遜越來越熱衷于擴大與外國企業(yè)的合作規(guī)模,而且在這過程中,亞馬遜往往會犧牲美國國內(nèi)合作伙伴的利益。拜登政府必須全力支持真正致力于支持美國制造業(yè)的企業(yè),用納稅人的錢購買美國國貨,實現(xiàn)“美國制造”的承諾。
毫無疑問,拜登的最新行政命令讓政府朝著重振美國制造業(yè)的正確方向邁出了一步。這條行政命令要求監(jiān)管機構(gòu)收緊對美國制造產(chǎn)品的定義,并要求管理和預(yù)算辦公室設(shè)立一個職位,監(jiān)督國貨采購。這些舉措將幫助更多美國人重返工作崗位,值得稱贊。
然而,這條行政命令并沒有解決聯(lián)邦政府采購工作越來越依賴亞馬遜的問題,而亞馬遜也在進一步努力,力圖主導(dǎo)公共部門采購。亞馬遜企業(yè)購(亞馬遜的B2B市場,政府和企業(yè)可以在這里采購辦公用品、IT產(chǎn)品等商品)已經(jīng)悄然成為了亞馬遜最賺錢的業(yè)務(wù)板塊,增長速度幾乎是公司整體增長速度的三倍。
目前亞馬遜已經(jīng)在采購方面與聯(lián)邦政府展開了合作。去年六月,美國總務(wù)管理局與亞馬遜簽訂了一份利潤豐厚的合約,旨在幫助聯(lián)邦政府在網(wǎng)上進行微采購,即購買辦公用品和其他價格較低的商品。聯(lián)邦政府微采購是一個價值60億美元的市場,亞馬遜可以從中賺取幾千萬美元的手續(xù)費。時至今日,亞馬遜更是有望涉足價值將近6000億美元的聯(lián)邦采購市場。一些商界領(lǐng)袖警告稱,放任任何一家企業(yè)主導(dǎo)公共采購都可能會導(dǎo)致產(chǎn)品采購價格升高,并制造障礙阻撓其他競爭對手進入。因此在這一問題上,確保納稅人的錢流向正確的地方比以往任何時候都更為重要。
無獨有偶,州政府和地方政府采購部門也開始越來越多地利用電商平臺滿足采購需求。美國最大的100個地方政府中,有超過40%的政府都在使用亞馬遜企業(yè)購。這可能會進一步扼殺受疫情影響的小型企業(yè)。這些企業(yè)長期依賴政府采購合同,但就在它們最承受不了價格戰(zhàn)的當(dāng)下,亞馬遜降低了它們的產(chǎn)品價格。
不幸的是,許多官員很可能會買到進口產(chǎn)品,而不是美國制造的產(chǎn)品。電商調(diào)研公司Marketplace Pulse的數(shù)據(jù)顯示,今年一月新入駐亞馬遜的商家有75%來自中國,高于去年的47%。
這一局面令人失望,但并不出人意料——這正是亞馬遜決定拋棄美國商家,直接擁抱中國工廠的結(jié)果。最近,美國眾議院反壟斷小組委員會發(fā)表了一份有關(guān)大型科技公司的報告,其中列舉了亞馬遜高管之間的電子郵件往來。這一郵件證實了美國第三方企業(yè)相當(dāng)長一段時間以來所懷疑的事情。一位員工自豪地談到了“更快”招攬中國商家一事,并且想要掩蓋“中國商家蜂擁而來”對美國商家產(chǎn)生的更為廣泛的影響。這清楚地表明,亞馬遜的決策者明白,公司的策略削弱了美國亞馬遜商家和美國制造商的競爭力,同時也扼殺了就業(yè)機會。
拜登的計劃應(yīng)該要求政府從經(jīng)審查的美國商家和制造商處購買所有產(chǎn)品,而不是允許政府在亞馬遜的B2B市場上不受約束地進行采購。除外國商家?guī)淼拿黠@安全隱憂外,亞馬遜優(yōu)先考慮中國制造商的舉措也迫使美國商家(通常是依法納稅并支持國內(nèi)員工的小型企業(yè))不得不從海外工廠購買產(chǎn)品,因為他們沒有其他采購選擇。
作為一名曾為這個國家服務(wù)過的前海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊成員,我很感謝制造商和商家所做出的重要貢獻,他們在全美創(chuàng)造了幾百萬高薪工作崗位,保證了美國的繁榮昌盛。確保亞馬遜上的商家從美國制造商處購買產(chǎn)品,將促使更多就業(yè)機會回流美國,同時也有助于我們刺激國內(nèi)經(jīng)濟增長。
眼下我們面臨著一條漫長的復(fù)蘇之路。拜登總統(tǒng)“購買美國國貨”的計劃和其他類似舉措可以幫助美國制造商、企業(yè)和工人渡過難關(guān),變得更加強大。但是,要想真正點燃經(jīng)濟增長,我們必須確保政府資金真正用于重建美國國內(nèi)的制造業(yè)。我們不妨從亞馬遜開始,著手解決這個問題。(財富中文網(wǎng))
杰森?博伊斯(Jason Boyce)著有《亞馬遜叢林》(The Amazon Jungle),是亞馬遜托管服務(wù)機構(gòu)Avenue7Media創(chuàng)始人,此前曾連續(xù)18年入選亞馬遜商家榜前200名。
譯者:錢功毅
President Biden’s recent executive order to ensure that the federal government buys goods produced here at home should, in theory, deliver a necessary boost to American manufacturers and small businesses, many of which are now struggling to stay afloat amid an unprecedented economic crisis. But the Buy American directive won’t live up to its promise if the government relies on Amazon as its own personal Everything Store, because the tech giant’s online marketplace is increasingly relying on products from foreign companies.
Given Amazon’s growing interest in scaling up its foreign partnerships—often at the expense of those back home—the Biden administration must be fully committed to supporting companies actually committed to supporting American manufacturing, and to spending taxpayer dollars on domestic goods to realize the promise of “Made in America.”
There’s no doubt that the latest executive order is a step in the right direction towards reinvigorating U.S. manufacturing. It directs regulators to tighten the definition of American-made products, while also creating a position in the Office of Management and Budget to oversee purchases of domestic goods. These moves will help get more Americans back to work and should be applauded.
However, the executive order does nothing to address the federal government’s increasing dependence on Amazon as a primary procurement source as the company scales up its efforts to dominate public sector purchasing. Amazon Business—the company’s B2B marketplace that allows governments along with businesses to purchase goods like office supplies and IT products—has quietly become one of Amazon’s most lucrative revenue streams, growing at nearly triple the pace of the company’s overall growth.
Amazon is already working with the federal government on procurement. The U.S. General Services Administration awarded a lucrative contract to Amazon in June to facilitate micropurchases (think office supplies and other low-dollar items) made online by federal agencies—a $6 billion market that could land Amazon tens of millions of dollars in fees. As Amazon looks to grow its foothold in the nearly $600 billion market for federal procurement, business leaders have warned that allowing any one company to dominate public purchasing could bring higher prices and create barriers to entry for other competitors—making it more important than ever to ensure those taxpayer dollars are going to the right places.
Similarly, state and local government purchasing departments have increasingly turned to the e-commerce platform for their procurement needs, with more than 40% of the 100 largest local governments now using Amazon Business. This could further strangle small businesses already reeling from the pandemic, which have long depended on these contracts but are now being undercut by Amazon at a time when they can least afford a race to the bottom.
Unfortunately, many of these officials are likely purchasing imported goods instead of those made here in the U.S. China-based sellers represented 75% of new sellers on the e-commerce platform in January, according to e-commerce research firm Marketplace Pulse, a spike from 47% in the previous year.
This is the disappointing—but also, unsurprising—result of Amazon’s decision to cut out U.S. sellers and go directly to Chinese factories. Tucked into the recent House antitrust subcommittee report on Big Tech companies was an email exchange between Amazon executives that confirmed what American third-party businesses have suspected for quite some time. An employee boasted of “accelerating” Chinese-seller recruiting numbers and wanting to hide the broader implications among U.S. sellers for the “avalanche of China-based sellers”—a clear signal that Amazon decision-makers understood that its tactics undercut American Amazon sellers and U.S. manufacturers while killing jobs along the way.
Rather than allowing procurement to run unchecked through the Amazon B2B marketplace, Biden’s plan should require that all government purchases go through vetted American sellers and manufacturers. Beyond the glaring safety concerns from foreign sellers, Amazon’s moves to prioritize Chinese manufacturers has forced American sellers—often small businesses that pay their fair share in taxes and support employees back home—to buy from overseas factories simply because they have no other sourcing options available.
As a former Marine who has served this country, I can appreciate the important contributions of the manufacturers and sellers who have created millions of high-paying jobs nationwide and guaranteed America’s prosperity. Ensuring that Amazon sellers are buying from American manufacturers will help bring more of these jobs back to the U.S., while allowing us to stimulate economic growth at home.
We now face a long road to recovery. Moves like President Biden’s Buy American plan can help American manufacturers, businesses, and workers come back stronger. But in order to truly kick-start our economic growth, we need to ensure that government dollars are actually going to building back our manufacturing industry back home, and that can begin with Amazon.
Jason Boyce is the author of The Amazon Jungle and founder of Amazon managed services agency, Avenue7Media. Previously, Boyce was an 18-year Top 200 Amazon seller.