The family business · First term · № 33
China gave initial approval to 16 more Ivanka Trump trademarks, including voting machines, during the trade war
- Date
- , Chinese trademark records, first reported by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
- Subject
- China
- Benefit
- Gifts and payments
- Government
- China
- Beneficiary
- Ivanka Trump (Ivanka Trump Marks LLC)
- Topic
- Ethics & conflicts
- Era
- First term
What happened
In October 2018, Ivanka Trump's fashion brand won first trial approval from the Chinese government for 16 new trademarks, the largest number in a single month since her father took office, covering handbags, shoes, wedding dresses and jewelry as well as nursing homes, sausage casing and voting machines, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington reported on November 5, 2018. The applications had been filed in 2016. The approvals came about three months after Ivanka Trump announced in July 2018 that she was closing the brand, while she continued to serve as a White House adviser; The Washington Post had reported she would retain the brand's intellectual property and keep seeking trademarks. CREW said the approvals came "while her father continues to wage a trade war with China" and that her trademarks "remain a potential conflict of interest." Freedom House rated China Not Free in its 2018 report.