The Trump company is not banning private foreign deals, a break with its first term policy

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Trump family business released a voluntary ethics agreement Friday that marks a significant departure from Donald Trump's first term by allowing it to strike deals with private foreign companies. The Trump Organization recently struck deals for hotels and golf resorts in Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, raising concerns by government ethics experts and watchdogs that president-elect Trump's personal financial interests could influence policy toward those countries. People trying to win Trump's favor now have an easy way to do so, she said, by using “massive influxes of cash through ‘investments’ in Trump crypto and real estate ventures.” The Trump Organization announced that it was hiring William A. Burck, a managing partner of Quinn Emanuel LLP, to vet deals that could pose conflicts of interest with public policy. Eric Trump, the son most heavily involved in running the Trump Organization, has expressed frustration that the company had become a lightning rod for conflicts of interest critics during his father's first presidential term despite the company's voluntary ethics ban on certain deals.