China\u2019s preliminary approval of dozens of new trademarks for businesses and products owned by President Donald Trump and his family raises fresh questions about potential conflicts of interest with foreign governments, several Senate Democrats say…<\/b>
China\u2019s preliminary approval of dozens of new trademarks for businesses and products owned by President Donald Trump and his family raises fresh questions about potential conflicts of interest with foreign governments, several Senate Democrats say. Sens. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Ben Cardin of Maryland, Dianne Feinstein of California and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said Wednesday the trademarks are the clearest example of how the Trump Organisation can benefit from actions of foreign governments. China is \u201ctrying to curry favour with the president of the United States,\u201d Cardin said at a news conference in Washington. Cardin, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations panel, has introduced legislation calling on Trump to divest from the Trump Organisation or put his assets in a blind trust. \u201cThis is a controlled country where the political leadership makes all the important decisions,\u201d he said. \u201cSo granting these trademarks to the president of the United States was clearly cleared through the highest sources within the Chinese government, because that\u2019s how they operate on matters like this.\u201d Feinstein called on Trump to establish far more distance from his company, and said he is \u201cblatantly defying\u201d a constitutional prohibition on government officials receiving financial benefits from foreign governments without Congress\u2019s consent. \u201cIt\u2019s appalling that the president refuses to address this crystal clear conflict of interest,\u201d Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. \u201cHe should immediately divest and create a blind trust, and he must be transparent about his business interests. Instead, we\u2019re seeing a president who appears eager to leverage his office for personal gain.\u201d Trump, whose interests in real estate, licensing and golf courses reach into about 20 nations, said in January he would step down from his leadership roles at his businesses and forgo any foreign deals during his presidency. His two sons are running the company. Trump said that goes further than is required by a federal ethics law, which requires government officials to divest financial holdings that pose conflicts, but doesn\u2019t cover the president. China granted at least two dozen trademarks, and the number could be high as 38. Trump\u2019s lawyers in China applied for the trademarks in April 2016 while he was campaigning for president and accusing China of stealing US jobs and currency manipulation. By not divesting from his businesses as other presidents have over four decades, Trump opened the potential for unprecedented conflicts. In Congress, Republicans haven\u2019t been criticising Trump over the matter. All 33 lawmakers co-sponsoring Cardin\u2019s legislation are Democrats. Cardin said the timing of China\u2019s award of an earlier trademark in mid-February was disturbing because it came days after the new president said he would stand by the \u201cone China\u201d principle in which that country insists both Taiwan and mainland China are indivisible parts of a single nation. He had broken with diplomatic norms in December and accepted a call from the president of Taiwan. \u201cPresident Trump is compromising the integrity of the office of the president and it\u2019s absolutely essential that he divest or set up a blind trust of his assets in order to protect the integrity of that office,\u201d Cardin said. Stabenow accused Trump of deferring action, while the trademark decisions were pending, on his campaign pledge to name China a \u201ccurrency manipulator\u201d on his first day in office. \u201cWhy all of the sudden after making the promise so clearly is he suddenly backing up on this and, surprise of all surprises, he\u2019s now getting 38 more trademarks in China for businesses and products?\u201d said Stabenow, a leading advocate for imposing penalties on China over its currency policies. \u201cI find the whole thing stunning.\u201d Blumenthal said the trademarks raise the prospect \u201cthat the president possibly is beholden to the approving officials in China, even more than to the American people.\u201d The new trademarks are the latest indication that the company may push the boundaries of what Trump means with his promise not to do new foreign deals. Trump already has one large financial connection with the Chinese government. The Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the world\u2019s largest lender and a state-owned enterprise, is a tenant of his Trump Tower in Manhattan. The bank is slated to renegotiate its lease during his term. He also listed multiple companies in his filing to the US Federal Election Commission related to business in China. In October, Trump Hotels CEO Eric Danziger told Chinese media that he plans to open locations in 20 to 30 Chinese cities, plus more under the Trump Organization\u2019s new Scion brand.<\/p>\n