In Ivanka’s China

It is no secret that the bulk of Ivanka Trumps merchandise comes from China. But just which Chinese companies manufacture and export her handbags， shoes and clothes is more secret than ever. In the months since she took her White House role， public information about the companies importing Ivanka Trump goods to the U.S. has become harder to find. Information that once routinely appeared in private trade tracking data has vanished， leaving the identities of companies involved in 90 percent of shipments unknown. Even less is known about her manufacturers. Trumps brand， which is still owned by the first daughter and presidential adviser， declined to disclose the information.

The deepening secrecy means its unclear who Ivanka Trumps company is doing business with in China， even as she and her husband， Jared Kushner， have emerged as important conduits for top Chinese officials in Washington. The lack of disclosure makes it difficult to understand whether foreign governments could use business ties with her brand to try to influence the White House — and whether her company stands to profit from foreign government subsidies that can destroy American jobs. Such questions are especially pronounced in China， where state-owned and state-subsidized companies dominate large swaths of commercial activity.

“There should be more transparency， but right now we do not have the legal mechanism to enforce transparency unless Congress requests information through a subpoena，” said Richard Painter， who served as chief White House ethics lawyer for George W. Bush， and is part of a lawsuit against President Donald Trump for alleged constitutional violations. “I dont know how much money shes making on this and why its worth it. I think its putting our trade policy in a very awkward situation.”

An review of the records that are available about Ivanka Trumps supply chain found two potential red flags. In one case， a province in eastern China announced the award of export subsidies to a company that shipped thousands of Ivanka Trump handbags between March 2016 and February of this year， Chinese public records show — a possible violation by China of global fair trade rules， trade experts said.

The AP also found that tons of Ivanka Trump clothing were exported from 2013 to 2015 by a company owned by the Chinese government， according to public records and trade data. It is unclear whether the brand is still working with that company， or other state-owned entities. Her brand has pledged to avoid business with state-owned companies now that shes a White House adviser， but contends that its supply chains are not its direct responsibility.endprint

Ivanka Trumps brand doesnt actually make its products directly. Instead， it contracts with licensees who oversee production of her merchandise. In exchange， those licensees pay the brand royalties. The AP asked Ivanka Trumps brand for a list of its suppliers. The company declined to disclose them. The clothing， footwear and handbag licensees contacted by AP also declined to reveal source factories.

Abigail Klem， president of IT Operations LLC， which manages Ivanka Trumps brand， said the company does not contract with foreign state-owned companies or benefit from Chinese government subsidies. However， she acknowledged that its licensees might.”We license the rights to our brand name to licensing companies that have their own supply chains and distribution networks，” Klem said in an email. “The brand receives royalties on sales to wholesalers and would not benefit if a licensee increased its profit margin by obtaining goods at a lower cost，” she added.

But Michael Stone， chairman of Beanstalk， a global brand licensing agency， said lower production costs for licensees would ultimately benefit Ivanka Trump by freeing up money for marketing or lower retail prices， both of which drive sales.

“It gives her a competitive advantage and an indirect benefit to her financially，” Stone said. “The more successful the licensee is the more successful Ivanka Trump is going to be.”

Companies sent Ivanka Trump products to the United States by looking at shipment data maintained by ImportGenius and Panjiva Inc.， private companies that independently track global trade. Panjivas records show that 85 percent of shipments of her goods to the U.S. this year originated in China and Hong Kong， but beyond that， its becoming more difficult to map the brands global footprint.

The companies that shipped Ivanka Trump merchandise to the U.S. are listed for just five of 57 shipments logged by Panjiva from the end of March， when she officially became a presidential adviser， through mid-September. Panjiva collects data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection， which did not immediately release the missing data to AP.

While in many cases the manufacturer ships goods directly， merchandise can also be made by one company and shipped by another trading or consolidation company.

There used to be more visibility. Last year， 27 percent of the companies that exported Ivanka Trump merchandise to the U.S. were identified in Panjivas records， and back in 2014 a full 95 percent were named. For two of Ivanka Trumps licensees— G-III Apparel Group Ltd. and Marc Fisher Footwear — the number of shipments appears to plunge in 2015， likely because they “requested to hide” their shipment activity， according to Panjiva records. Neither company responded to APs questions.endprint

The brand declined to comment on the growing murkiness of its supply chain.

Chris Rogers， an analyst at Panjiva， said any company can ask customs authorities to redact its information for any reason. About a quarter of companies request anonymity， he said， but the majority dont mind disclosing who theyre doing business with.

“A lot of companies have said， ‘yes there might be a commercial disadvantage， but we want to be transparent about our supply chain，” he explained. “Why would we want to cover up the fact that were working with this particular company？”

While ethics lawyers may see disclosure as the best antidote to conflict of interest， many brands see it as a tool to keep supply chains scandal-free. Public outcry over sweatshop conditions and worker suicides prompted companies like Nike Inc. and Apple Inc. to disclose the names and addresses of their manufacturers， and a growing number， including Gap Inc.， the H&M Group， New Balance Athletics Inc.， Adidas AG and Levi Strauss & Co.， publicly identify their suppliers.

Ivanka Trump should do the same， said Allen Adamson，founder and CEO of BrandSimple Consulting. “Its a missed opportunity to lead by example.”

What shipping records do show is that a company called Zhejiang Tongxiang Foreign Trade Group Co. Ltd.， a sprawling conglomerate once majority-owned by the Chinese state， sent at least 30 tons of Ivanka Trump handbags to the U.S. between March 2016 and February.

Zhejiang provinces commerce department said in June 2014 that it would help lower export costs for that same company， along with nine other local enterprises， through a special three-year trade promotion program. Among the measures outlined were export insurance subsidies and funding for online trading platforms and international marketing， as well as special funds earmarked for foreign trade companies with large-scale， fast-growing exports.

The value of the subsidies is unclear， as are details about how the directives were implemented， but using subsidies to reduce the price of exports is considered so destructive to fair trade that the World Trade Organization generally bans the practice. Chinese government subsidies hurt American workers but can lower costs for U.S. companies that import made-in-China merchandise， potentially boosting their profits. President Donald Trump has called companies that benefit from foreign government subsidies “cheaters.”

Four trade experts in the United States and China -said the Zhejiang measures appeared to violate World Trade Organization rules. “These are clearly export subsidies，” said Gary Hufbauer， a trade expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.endprint

Zhejiang provinces Department of Commerce and the Zhejiang Tongxiang Foreign Trade Group declined comment.

From Oct. 2013 to Jan. 2015， Jiangsu High Hope International Group Corp.， a conglomerate majority-owned by the Jiangsu provincial government， shipped 45 tons of Ivanka Trump clothing to the U.S.， according to records from ImportGenius and Panjiva.

High Hope said it had “a small number of business dealings” with Ivanka Trump licensee G-III Apparel， but declined to answer questions about whether the relationship is ongoing.

G-III， which is based in New York City， declined to respond to specific questions but said in a statement that it is“committed to legal compliance and ethical business practices in all of our operations worldwide.” Ivanka Trump licensee Mondani Handbags & Accessories Inc.， also headquartered in New York， did not respond to requests for comment.

Ivanka Trumps brand said it was in the process of reviewing its supply chains with the help of “independent experts whose mission it is to advance human rights” and emphasized that all licensees， manufacturers， subcontractors and suppliers are required to abide by the law， as well as ethical practices set forth in a vendor code of conduct.

Ivanka Trump rebrands -- again

For the curious observer， one of the best ways to learn more about Ivanka Trump， senior adviser to the President of the United States， was to become one of her some 3.9 million followers onInstagram. There， in color， sometimes with witty captions， were myriad photographs providing a peek behind the curtain of one of Washingtons most compelling new residents.

Her three children， Arabella， 6， Joseph， 3， and Theodore， 1， were the true stars of the feed. Theodore taking his first --documented -- crawl in the White House State Dining Room in January. Joseph pressing his face against the window glass in the Oval Office in February. Arabella catapulting herself down the White House steps outside the West Wing in April. An at-home-after-a-long-day impromptu dance party in May， Arabella in arabesque pose inside the White House China Room， with a caption from Ivanka about being ready for the weekend in June.

It was an unprecedented visual diary of a first family in modern times.

And then it stopped.

With few exceptions， Trumps family-centric social media habits have been curbed. Amid a barrage of negative press in recent weeks， Trump has shifted her strategy， instead portraying herself through the lens of her White House position. That role has changed in recent months with the installation of Ret. Gen. John Kelly as chief of staff， a move that has helped refine the first daughters West Wing responsibilities.endprint

The abrupt switchover from documenting all aspects of her lifestyle to almost all White House-centric posts is a curious move for Trump， for years a savvy entrepreneur and businesswoman who knows about the importance of marketing a brand.

Her streamlined image rehab signals Trump has buttoned down the private side， closing the window on observers and critics， essentially curating a new focus.

Trump had previously sought to distance herself from the chaos of the early months of the administration. The change on social media signals a furthering of that goal.

For the past several weeks， Trumps Instagram has featured “Ivanka at work，” rolling out fresh initiatives for STEM education， or， on Tuesday， visiting with military spouses at Camp Lejeune to talk about employment opportunities.

Instead of using her Instagram to document weekday museum visits and market her latest book， “Women Who Work，” which she did several times in summer months， Trump is now discussing policy. In early September， the hashtags in her posts said things like #CodingforKids and #TaxReform， quite a departure from #CoolMom， which she used on a post from July of Arabella visiting Vice President Mike Pence with Trump in the West Wing. A White House official tells CNN that Trumps zeroing-in on policy is the result of a streamlined West Wing.

“Theres now a process in place，” says the official， noting the change is thanks in large part to Kellys hire in August.“Because of more procedural routines and defined roles，（Trump） can pare down distractions.”

When the previous regime was in charge， particularly extop advisers Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon， lanes werent as clear and the daily pace was more chaotic.

This week， Trump penned an op-ed on computer science in the New York Post and is on the cover of supermarket tabloid Us Weekly magazine， discussing her White House job in a rare， on the record Q&A.

Asked about her goals， Trump answered： “Providing opportunities， like encouraging female and minority entrepreneurship in this country. Skills training needs to start with our youngest students and include our oldest workers， who have been displaced by technology. Advocating for todays dualincome families and for paid family leave.” （She also says she gets “goosebumps” walking through the door of the White House.） Trump is still showing a more personal side through her carefully crafted appearances， albeit on her own terms. Two weeks ago， she appeared on daytime talk show “Dr. Oz，”discussing her struggle with postpartum depression after the births of her children and revealing a vulnerability she rarely shows.endprint

“It was a very challenging emotional time for me because I felt like I was not living up to my potential as a parent or as an entrepreneur and executive，” Trump said. “Look， I consider myself a very hard-charging person. I am ambitious. Im passionate. Im driven， but this is something that affects parents all over the country.”

Those appearances arent always necessarily successful in defining her personal brand.

Trump spearheaded a $200 million effort rolled out at the White House last week promoting STEM and computer science education. Visiting with students last week at Middleburg Community Charter School， Trump excelled in the more personal， one-on-one interactions， including coding on a tablet alongside a fifth grade student. But when she spoke at an all-school assembly， she reverted to her White House talking points.Clearly， Trump is trying to step away from the role of impotent advocate for more controversial issues， such as climate change， LGBTQ， womens health and the Syrian refugee crisis， which many political watchers had hoped she would take up as the more moderate voice in her fathers administration. In September， Trump told the Financial Times that wasnt ever going to happen.

“Some people have created unrealistic expectations of what they expect from me. That my presence， in and of itself， would carry so much weight with my father that he would abandon his core values and the agenda that the American people voted for when they elected him，” she said. “Its not going to happen. To those critics， shy of turning my father into a liberal， Id be a failure to them.”

Trumps target policies， while always under the vast umbrella of her portfolio， are less polarizing issues： combating human trafficking， promoting STEM and computer science education， workforce development and womens economic empowerment.Trump has also styled herself as a diplomat of sorts within the administration in recent months， showcasing her inclusion in discussions about womens entrepreneurship and human trafficking. She has developed relationships with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau andGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel， catching a Broadway show with Trudeau in March and traveling to Germany at Merkels invitation in April for the Women 20 Summit.

She briefly took the Presidents seat at a meeting during the G20 summit in Hamburg， Germany. While the move caused a stir on social media， it again signaled her interest in developing a profile on the worlds stage on behalf of the administration.

And during the United Nations General Assembly last month， world leaders lined up to meet with Trump， including Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj， International Committee for the Red Cross President Peter Maurer， and Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop， and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. She also spoke out against human trafficking at a panel event alongside British Prime Minister Theresa May， who thanked Trump for the “personal shared commitment”to the issue.endprint