Topline
President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday a deal to save TikTok from a ban in the U.S. is still “on the table,” making the announcement shortly after he raised tariff rates against China, which has reportedly been reluctant to agree to a sale for the social media platform over Trump’s escalating trade war.
Trump said Wednesday the deal is still on the table. (Photo by Muhammed Selim Korkutata/Anadolu via … More
Key Facts
Trump said in an Oval Office appearance the deal is “moving along,” noting “China’s not exactly thrilled about signing it,” likely referring to the country’s reaction to being hit with increased tariffs.
TikTok has until mid-June to sell or divest its assets to an American company or face a ban in the U.S.
The president announced Wednesday a 90-day pause on tariffs for many countries but excluding China, raising the tariff rate against the country to 125% after China raised its own retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. to 84% on Tuesday.
“We have a deal with some very good people, some very rich companies,” Trump added without naming what companies were involved in the potential deal.
Trump said the U.S. is “going to have to wait to see” how China responds, adding he believes the country will want to sign a deal for TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based company ByteDance.
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What American Companies Could Buy Tiktok?
Though the Trump administration has yet to explicitly say what American firms are involved in the deal for TikTok, companies such as Oracle, Microsoft and Amazon are in the running for a stake in the platform used by around 150 million Americans. Oracle has been in talks with the White House to oversee American users’ data and keep it separate from Beijing, according to Politico, while Microsoft has been named by Trump as a company interested in TikTok. Amazon recently made an offer letter to White House officials including Vice President JD Vance, The New York Times reported.
Key Background
Trump first announced a sweeping round of tariffs against some 180 countries last week, sending markets reeling for several days before he followed up with a pause on the tariffs for countries willing to negotiate new trade deals with the U.S. While the tariffs have sent stocks into a volatile frenzy and stoked fears of a recession, the impact of the levies has seemingly reached TikTok negotiations. The law forcing TikTok’s ban or sale was signed by former President Joe Biden after bipartisan national security concerns were raised over the app. The app briefly went dark in the U.S. in January before Trump took office and signed an extension on the law against it, keeping it operational in the U.S. until April. Vance said ahead of the deadline “there will almost certainly be a high-level agreement” that stopped TikTok from being banned. The Trump administration sought to secure a TikTok deal with China by last Friday’s deadline before it announced another extension for the platform’s potential sale or ban, giving the White House more time to sort out a deal for the platform until June. The dealmaking process was progressing when ByteDance told the White House that the Chinese government bailed from the deal after Trump announced tariffs against Beijing, according to multiple outlets. By Sunday, Trump told reporters a deal was close to being made, “and then China changed the deal because of tariffs.”
Further Reading
TikTok Ban: Trump Extending Deadline By 75 Days (Forbes)
Battle For TikTok: Amazon, AppLovin Join Oracle And These Others Vying To Buy It (Forbes)
