China’s government has issued its first trial approval for 16 new trademarks of Ivanka Trump’s fashion business, as the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington reports. The labels for the POTUS’s daughter’s company reportedly includes fashion items like handbags, shoes, wedding dresses, jewelry, as well as nursing homes, sausage casing, and voting machines. In addition, 7 more trademarks are still pending approval.
The report suggests that Ivanka Trump’s business continued to seek new trademarks although she announced the closure of her namesake apparel brand in July 2018 because of her influential position in the White House. The company said then licensing contracts would not be renewed and those which are currently in place will continue to operate.
"After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, 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," the advisor to the President said in a statement.
The revelations about her newly received trademarks have come amid the escalation of a trade row between China and the US. It was triggered in April when Washington slapped 25- and 10-percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, respectively, from China. Beijing retaliated with its own tariffs against US goods, but continues to maintain that there can be no winners in a trade war.
READ MORE: Trump Predicts a "Great Deal" With China as Bilateral Trade Row Persists
On September 24, Trump's fresh tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and services entered into force, with Washington warning that it could slap similar tariffs on another $267 billion of Chinese goods and services in the future. However, late in October, US President Trump underscored that he predicted a "full-blown deal" with China on trade, but that Beijing is not ready for it.