Amazon.com Inc. shares fell as much as 7.4 percent on Wednesday, briefly wiping about $53.6 billion from its market value, after news website Axios reported that U.S. President Donald Trump is obsessed with the world's largest online retailer and wants to rein in its growing power.
Trump has talked about using antitrust law to "go after" the company because he is worried about mom-and-pop retailers being put out of business by Amazon, Axios reported, citing five sources it said had discussed the issue with him.
Trump also wants to change Amazon's tax treatment, the report said, an issue the president raised publicly last year when he called for an internet tax for online retailers, even though Amazon already collects sales tax on items it sells direct to customers.