Source: Time

It seems that President Trump is getting his wish granted now that China approved dozens of Trump trademarks. Critics are now raging as this is not ethical and the move clearly violates rules set in the Constitution.

The trademark office in China recently granted preliminary approvals to 38 new trademarks, which cover everything from insurance to golf clubs and everything in between.

After such reports were published, Senate Democrats are in an outrage, especially considering that Sheri Dillon, Trump's lawyer, promised that there would be no ‘new foreign deals’ while Mr. Trump sits on the presidential chair. However, this new acquisition of trademarks by the Trump Organization, which the President still owns, could be laying the necessary groundwork for the company's expansion to China.

According to Ben Cardin, Trump sought to acquire valuable and lucrative trademarks in one of the world's biggest markets before he became the President. However, the efforts led to little success. In fact, they were turned down each and every time. These days, the floodgates appear to be welcoming.

Ben Cardin urges the proper authorities to immediately address the matter and the constitutional dangers it brings. The primary concern of the situation is the assault on the Emoluments Clause that's within the Constitution.

The clause dictates that elected leaders are forbidden to take anything of value from other countries, except if the Congress approves it.

According to Feinstein, the trademark approvals are exactly what the clause is primarily designed to prevent, and Mr. Trump is defying it blatantly.

Just last month, China approved a registered trademark from a construction business that is owned by Mr. Trump.

Kathleen Clark, one of Washington University's government ethics professors, stated that by approving Trump’s trademarks, Chinese officials may be in a position to influence policy decisions. Such scenario is a clear breach of the Emoluments Clause.

Source: The Irish Times

This is a recipe for disaster. It's possible that Chinese officials misunderstood how they are dealing with Mr. Trump, as well as the United States. Mr. Trump could also be thinking of what China can do for the United States and also for his financial position.

The Trump Organization released a statement which said: “The trademark acquisition is simply to prevent other parties from using the Trump Organization's valuable trademarks and brands.”

For decades, the Trump Organization continually made attempts to get trademark approvals for a variety of products and services, which includes a computer software, lingerie, and pet care products. The Trump Organization also claimed that many Chinese business owners are using the trademark "Trump" without paying licensing fees.

The latest trademark applications were filed in April 2016. This was around the time in which Trump publicly claimed that China is stealing jobs from the U.S.

The Trademark Office in China already published provisional approvals last February 27. If there won’t be any objections within 90 days, the trademarks will be automatically approved. As of the moment, critics are in an outrage, urging the federal authorities to attend to this matter immediately.