I previously posted about this matter in Reply #1443, and the following article entitled: "Donald Trump May Have Just Committed an Impeachable Offense", provides further discussions of how Trump is likely violating the emolument clause of the US Constitution.
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/02/donald-trump-impeachable-offenseExtract: "China’s decision to gift the president a valuable trademark this week could violate the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution.
Still, there is some good news for Trump and his personal brand, if not for his already embattled administration. According to ABC News, Trump received a big, fat gift from China this week in the form of a 10-year trademark on his name for construction.
The award marks a sudden reversal of fortunes for Trump, who had reportedly been trying to win the valuable rights to his name for a decade. Interestingly, the Chinese government came through for him one month after he took the oath of office and a week after his conversation with Chinese president Xi Jinping during which he endorsed the One China policy. After years of battling to take back the rights to his name from a man named Dong Wei, Trump’s registration was made official on Tuesday and announced by China’s trademark office on Wednesday.
There are several problems with this. First, it is easy to see how the approval of the Trump Organization’s application can be viewed as a foreign government giving favorable treatment to a president’s business, even though Trump has allegedly removed himself from day-to-day operations. His two adult sons still run the company, and since he did not divest, he still benefits from any financial gains. Second, with that financial benefit, ethics experts note that this could be leverage for the Chinese government to use over the president. And third, despite the fact that most conflict-of-interest laws don’t apply to the president, such a ruling from the Chinese government may violate the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits a president from accepting any gift or anything of value from a foreign government or entity. A trademark, which Trump appeared to value for a decade, could be perceived as unconstitutional."