Why does Ivanka Trump need trademarks for nursing homes, sausage casing, and *voting machines* in China? Or do we not want to know.
The fashion brand of Donald Trump’s daughter and presidential adviser Ivanka Trump has received first trial approval from the government of China for 16 new trademarks. The approvals were granted in October, only a few months after Ivanka said she was shutting down the Ivanka Trump brand, which was selling poorly in department stores here in the United States.
Read the trademarks here, courtesy of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
The is the largest number of new Chinese trademarks she has received in a single month since her father President Donald Trump took office.
The trademarks represent a possible conflict of interest for the Presidential adviser, because she continues to work on policy in the White House and meet with foreign leaders, writes Caroline Zhang at CREW, who points out that the wide array of trademarks granted includes “nursing homes, sausage casing, and voting machines. Ivanka’s business applied for these trademarks in 2016.”
Despite shutting down, Ivanka Trump’s brand will continue to seek new trademarks, according to public reports. This leaves open the possibility that she could resume her business after leaving her role in the White House. She retains ownership over all of her existing trademarks, and many of her trademarks will remain active as late as 2028.
The newest Chinese trademarks cover fashion items including handbags, shoes, wedding dresses, and jewelry. (Ivanka’s business has previously relied on a Chinese manufacturer to supply handbags, shoes, and clothing.) The trademarks also cover items including nursing homes, sausage casing, and voting machines. Ivanka’s business applied for these trademarks in 2016.
This is far from the first time that Ivanka’s Chinese trademarks have raised ethics questions. In May 2018, Ivanka Trump’s business received approval for several new Chinese trademarks a week before President Trump announced that he wanted to lift the ban on the Chinese company ZTE, for violating US sanctions. In 2017, the business received three new Chinese trademarks on the same day she dined with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Ivanka receives preliminary approval for these new Chinese trademarks while her father continues to wage a trade war with China. Since she has retained her foreign trademarks, the public will continue to have to ask whether President Trump has made foreign policy decisions in the interest of his and his family’s businesses.
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