The Trump administration recently announced its second round of tariffs on Chinese goods. More than $100 billion worth of Chinese goods will be included, yet the clothing and toy industry were exempt.
While a U.S. official claims the Trump administration used an algorithm to draft a list that would have the “lowest consumer impact,” many question if business motives were behind the administration’s decision.
The First Daughter, Ivanka Trump, owns an American clothing company that holds trademarks in China. And as an adviser to the president as well as a private business executive, ethics are in question.
Ivanka reportedly earns a total of $1.5 million a year from the Trump Organization, while working at the White House, according to the Huffington Post.
But Jamie Gorelick, Ivanka’s attorney said that she “has been advised that she cannot ask the government to act in an issue involving the brand in any way, constraining her ability to intervene personally” because of her role at the White House.
But, neither she nor her husband, Jared Kushner, have yet to “divest their assets, establish an honest trust, or recused themselves from their government work” as they’ve been advised to by government watch groups, ThinkProgress reported.
Ivanka is also being accused of wearing her own clothing line in her role as a White House adviser to help promote her brand as well as using her position in the White House to “avoid legal responsibilities associated with her brand,” ThinkProgress reported.
While the Trump administration claim their reason behind the exemption is to keep costs low on domestic consumer goods, experts aren’t convinced that this administration isn’t shaping public policy around personal business motives.
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