Trump extends TikTok sale deadline by 75 days, plans to work with China
Reuters
President Donald Trump on Friday extended by 75 days a deadline for Chinese technology company ByteDance to sell U.S. assets of popular short video app TikTok to a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban that was supposed to have taken effect in January under a 2024 law.
"The deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed," Trump said on social media, explaining why he was extending the deadline he set in January that was supposed to have expired on Saturday. "We hope to continue working in good faith with China, who I understand is not very happy about our reciprocal tariffs," News.Az reports citing Reuters.
China now faces a 54% tariff on goods imported into the United States after Trump announced he was hiking them by 34% this week, prompting China to retaliate on Friday. Trump has said he would be willing to reduce tariffs on China to get a deal done with ByteDance to sell the app used by 170 million Americans.
A ByteDance spokesperson said on Friday the company "has been in discussion with the U.S. government regarding a potential solution for TikTok U.S. An agreement has not been executed. There are key matters to be resolved. Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law."
Trump has said his administration was in touch with four different groups about a prospective TikTok deal. He has not identified them.
A major stumbling block to any deal for TikTok's U.S. business is Chinese government approval. China has not made a public commitment to allow a sale and Trump's comments suggested renewed Chinese opposition.
"We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the deal," Trump wrote on Friday.
"We do not want TikTok to 'go dark,'" Trump added.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Congress passed the measure last year with overwhelming bipartisan support, as lawmakers cited the risk of the Chinese government exploiting TikTok to spy on Americans and carry out covert influence operations. Democratic then-President Joe Biden signed it into law.
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