Chinese records published by the watchdog group Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW) show that White House advisor and first daughter Ivanka Trump was granted 16 new trademarks in the country last month.
Ivanka Trump said in July that she would shut down her fashion company but she has continued to seek trademarks in China.
“She’s dissolving the company now but is continuing to get trademarks so she can sell her stuff all over the world later,” former Which House ethics chief Richard Painter told The Washington Post. “What better time to get those trademarks than now, when every government around the world wants to play nice” with her dad?
China previously granted Ivanka at least five trademarks just days before her father announced he would lift sanctions on the Chinese cellphone giant ZTE. Ivanka also got three new trademarks last year on the day she met and had dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
CREW reports that the newly granted trademarks were applied for in 2016. They include everything from shoes to nursing homes to sausage casing to voting machines.
According to CREW, many of the trademarks she was granted will be active until 2028.
Ethics watchdog condemns: “Ivanka receives preliminary approval for these new Chinese trademarks while her father continues to wage a trade war with China,” CREW said in a statement. “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.”
Ivanka denies conflict: Ivanka and her company have repeatedly downplayed any allegations of impropriety. "Ms. Trump and the Trump Organization have previously described their trademark applications in China as part of a global effort to protect their names in places where intellectual property rights infringement is rampant," The New York Times reported.
