Questions raised over Chinese trademarks
China this month awarded Ivanka Trump seven new trademarks across a broad collection of businesses, including books, housewares and cushions.
At around the same time, US President Donald Trump vowed to find a way to prevent Chinese telecommunications company ZTE from going bust, even though the company has a history of violating American limits on doing business with countries like Iran and North Korea. Coincidence? Well, probably. Still, the timing is raising questions about the Trump family’s businesses and its patriarch’s status as commander in chief. Even as Trump contends with Beijing on issues like security and trade, his family and the company that bears his name are trying to make money off their brand in China’s promising market.
The most recent slew of trademarks appear to have been granted along the same timeline as Ivanka Trump’s previous requests, experts said. But more broadly, they said, Ivanka Trump’s growing portfolio of
BEIJING:
trademarks in China and the family’s business interests there raises questions about whether Chinese officials are giving the Trump family extra consideration that they otherwise might not get.
These critics say the foreign governments that do business with Ivanka Trump know they are dealing with the president’s daughter — a person who also works in the White House.
Ivanka Trump’s representatives have said that there is nothing improper about Trump’s trademarks and that they prevent individuals from profiting off her name. NYT