U.S. President Donald Trump extends the deadline by 75 days, with Chinese tech company Bytedance selling assets of popular short video app Tiktok to non-Chinese buyers or facing a ban that should have come into effect under the 2024 law in January.
“This deal requires more work to ensure all the necessary approvals are signed,” Trump said on social media, explaining why he was set in January, which was supposed to expire on Saturday. “We hope to continue to work sincerely with China, and I understand that China is not very satisfied with our reciprocal tariffs.”
China now faces 54% tariffs on goods imported into the U.S. after Trump announced he would hike 34% this week, prompting China to retaliate on Friday. Trump said he is willing to reduce tariffs on China to reach a deal with the apps used by 170 million Americans.
Trump said his administration is linked to four different groups on a potential Tiktok deal. He hasn’t confirmed them yet.
The main stumbling block to any transaction in Tiktok’s U.S. business is the recognition of the Chinese government. China has not publicly promised to allow the sale, and Trump’s comments suggest a renewed opposition to the Chinese opposition.
“We look forward to working with Tiktok and China to complete the deal,” Trump wrote on Friday. “We don’t want Tiktok to ‘become black’.”
Congress passed overwhelming bipartisan support last year to pass the measure as lawmakers cited the risks of the Chinese government exploiting Tiktok to monitor Americans and conduct secret influence. President Joe Biden then signed it into law.
Some lawmakers say Trump must enforce the law, which requires Tiktok to cease operations by January 19 unless the savage completes the divestiture of the app’s U.S. assets.
Trump began his second term as president on January 20 and chose not to execute it.
The Justice Department earlier told Apple and Google that it would not enforce the law, which allowed them to restore the app for new downloads.
New Trump orders will be settled by mid-June.
The White House-led talks about Tiktok’s future are centering around a plan to provide the parent company’s largest non-Chinese investor in the parent company’s field to increase its stake and acquire the app’s U.S. business, Reuters reported.
Sources told Reuters that the plan would require splitting a U.S. entity into Tiktok and diluting Chinese ownership in new businesses below the 20% threshold required by U.S. law, rescuing the app from an imminent U.S. ban.
Jeff Yass’s Susquehanna International Group and Bill Ford’s Atlantic future, both representing on the Bidens’ Board, Reuters reported.
ABC News reporter said on social media that Walmart is also considering joining a group of investors to reach a deal for Tiktok. The big retailer expressed interest in investing in Tiktok in 2020, but did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Tiktok also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
