Meanwhile, in China, Ivanka Trump’s Business Doesn’t Seem So Defunct After All
Remember when there were a few dim beams of (irrational) hope that Ivanka Trump could be some sort of secret resistance warrior in the Trump White House? Yeah, most people gave up on that a long ago. But, lest anyone forget about the First Daughter, there are new reasons to suspect that Ivanka’s business dealings could potentially pose a conflict of interest with her official White House role: On Sunday, the Chinese government awarded Ivanka’s now-defunct company four new trademarks (including for wedding dresses, sunglasses, and, um, child-care centers), in addition to a fifth that applies to art valuation services and charitable fundraising that was approved on January 6. The timing is terribly convenient—coming just as President Trump has begun engaging in negotiations with China amid the ongoing trade war.
Once you’re done screaming into the ether, a bit more about this very convenient timing: Ivanka’s newly approved trademark applications were filed in 2016 and 2017—before she shuttered her eponymous fashion company in July 2018 amid growing concerns over potential conflicts of interest. And yet, even after closing down her fashion and accessories brand, Ivanka has continued to win trademarks in China (she picked up 16 this past October), where some of her products (and those of her father) were manufactured. Her retail business had boomed in the country where, as Time wrote in 2017, she was “a hit”—thanks in no small part to her high-profile role in the White House.
“As the daughter of the U.S. president, Ivanka Trump has an initial advantage of publicity,” Yang Mei, a designer for the Beijing-based fashion studio Azrael YM, told Time. No kidding!
So, what do the new trademarks even mean to Ivanka’s defunct company? “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,” Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) wrote after Ivanka was awarded the trademarks in October. “She retains ownership over all of her existing trademarks, and many of her trademarks will remain active as late as 2028”—long after her welcome in the Oval Office is officially worn out.
In a farewell statement she issued when announcing that she would close her company last year, Ivanka did not rule out a future in fashion. “After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business,” she said, “but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, so making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners.”
And, of course, timing is everything. This isn’t the first time the First Daughter’s dealings in China have overlapped with government action. CREW also notes that in May 2018, Ivanka “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 U.S. sanctions.” And, earlier, “in 2017, the business received three new Chinese trademarks on the same day she dined with Chinese president Xi Jinping.” We may have given up on Ivanka, but it seems she hasn’t given up on profiting from her position.
