Sunday 18 December 2016

Just the sheer size and reach of the Trump Organisation's business interests has implications for U.S. foreign policy


For the last eighteen months in particular there has been media comment on the extensive business interests of U.S. president-elect Donald John Trump.

Since the November 2016 presidential election focus has intensified.

However, the U.S. Constitution drawn up in a simpler century teflon coats presidents - never having envisioned the likes of  Donald Trump.

The reach of Trump’s business interests are said to reach as far as Australia.

Given the man doesn’t seem to understand that the only ethical course would be to divest himself entirely of his business interests by placing them in a genuine blind trust not run by family members, close friends or business partners, so that both America and the world can have a measure of confidence in the his decision making as president, one can only look aghast at the potential for these business interests to fatally infect his presidency and U.S. foreign policy.

In July 2015 Donald Trump disclosed 515 U.S. and foreign corporations or partnerships in which he was either president, partner, chair, director, secretary, member and/or shareholder.

Forbes, 17 August 2015:

Under “Our Hotels” on the Trump Hotel Collection website, it lists six domestic hotels and six international hotels…..
The other hotels abroad are in Toronto, Doonbeg, Ireland, Vancouver, and Baku, Azerbaijan. (Toronto and Vancouver also have a Trump Tower.)
On the website for the Trump Real Estate Collection, nine international properties are listed, including two Trump Towers in India and one in Istanbul, another in Uruguay and another in the Philippines, as well as a Trump World in South Korea, among others.

Donald Trump has an interest in more than 30 U.S. properties, roughly half of which have debt on them according to The New York Times on 20 August 2016:

Debt on properties Mr. Trump owns or leases
PROPERTY
LOCATION
DEBT OUTSTANDING
40 Wall Street
Manhattan
157,400,000
Trump International Hotel*
Washington
127,000,000
Trump National Doral golf resort
Miami
125,000,000
Trump Tower
Manhattan
100,000,000
Trump International Hotel
Chicago
45,000,000
167 East 61st Street
Manhattan
14,500,000
Trump Park Avenue
Manhattan
12,495,000
Trump National Golf Club
Colts Neck, N.J.
11,700,000
4-8 East 57th Street "Niketown"
Manhattan
10,600,000
Seven Springs estate
Mount Kisco, N.Y.
8,000,000
Trump National Golf Club Washington
Potomac Falls, Va.
7,600,000
Trump International Hotel and Tower
Manhattan
7,000,000
Trump International Hotel**
Las Vegas
3,200,000
1094 South Ocean Boulevard
Palm Beach, Fla.
250,000
124 Woodbridge Road
Palm Beach, Fla.
250,000
*This construction loan was for $170 million. The Trump Organization and Times sources confirm roughly $127 million has been drawn down on.
**This loan was worth $110 million in 2010. The Trump Organization says a Trump entity is responsible for $3.2 million of the debt outstanding. The Times could not confirm this.
Debt associated with Mr. Trump's limited partnerships/investments
PROPERTY
LOCATION
  PRC  OWNED
DEBT OUTSTANDING
1290 Avenue of the Americas
Manhattan
30
950,000,000
555 California Street
San Francisco
30
589,000,000
Starrett City / Spring Creek Towers
Brooklyn
4
410,000,000
Other:
An internal Trump Organization corporate loan, which Mr. Trump says is worth more than $50 million.
Sources: RedVision Systems, Securities and Exchange Commission, New York Times, Bloomberg data, Trump Organization.
The New York Times compiled these debt estimates using bank documents, public filings and through interviews with the Trump Organization and people familiar with the debt who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak on the record about it.

The bulk of these liabilities appear to consist of mortgages maturing between 2016 and 2029.

The Washington Post, 16 September 2016:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection records, compiled by ImportGenius.com since 2007, give us a look at what has been imported by many of the businesses that are owned by Trump or use his name via licensing deals.

Trump has imported from the countries coloured red and many of the products bearing Donald Trump’s name appear to come from low-wage countries in East Asia.

Vodka
Trump licensed his name to the Israeli vodka after a 2011 legal battle. Unlike the original Trump vodka made in Holland, the new version was popular as one of the few liquors that’s kosher for Passover.
Barware
Made by a crystal company in a small town in Slovenia, its first entry into the U.S. market.
Ties
Made in countries such as China and sold on Amazon.com in nearly 200 patterns and sizes.
Mirrors
Made in China.
Accessories
Including cuff links, belts and eyeglasses made in China and other countries.
Fragrance
Trump’s cologne has been manufactured in and out of the United States.
Clothing
Trump makes his clothing line abroad. The manufacturers are generally scattered throughout East Asia and Central America.
Chandeliers and lamps
Some of these products retail for more than $4,000. Made in China.
Furniture
Trump Home sells furniture to consumers made in Germany and Turkey, but his own hotels often get furniture from massive distributors such as the multinational IHS Global Alliance.

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