Will tariffs on China impact a TikTok deal? Trump says deal still 'on the table'
A potential sale of TikTok remains "on the table," President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, less than a week after China indicated it was not interested in approving a final deal due to high tariffs.
"I would say right now China is not exactly thrilled about signing it (a deal to sell TikTok assets), but we have a deal with some very good people, some very rich companies that would do a great job with it," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday.
Trump's tariff on Chinese goods is now at 145%, the White House clarified on Thursday. The 125% tariffs announced Wednesday adds to the previously imposed 20% tariffs implemented by Trump back in February. In response, China struck back with an 84% tariff on U.S. goods, which went into effect on Thursday.
Las week on Friday, April 4, Trump signed an executive order to once again extend the deadline of a ban on TikTok in the United States. The 75-day ban ends on June 18.
U.S. TikTok users remember all too well when TikTok went briefly dark in January, when the short-form video app was removed from app stores and internet hosting services made the platform inaccessible. To combat the ban, Trump signed an executive order Jan. 20 extending the ban's deadline. That extension was set to expire Saturday, April 5 before Trump extended the deadline again.
Also last week, Trump shared that a deal was in the works to create a new company that would house and manage TikTok's U.S. assets, as reported by Reuters. The company would be operated by a majority of U.S. investors and ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, would hold a minority position of under 20%. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters last week that the deal was approved by existing investors, who have so far remained unnamed, ByteDance and the U.S. government.
As of Thursday, no official deals have been announced.
Why is TikTok facing a ban?
In spring 2024, former President Joe Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which gave ByteDance until Jan. 19, 2025 to divest TikTok. Some political officials have seen TikTok as a national security threat for years, expressing concern that ByteDance may be sharing U.S. user data with the Chinese government. ByteDance has repeatedly denied these claims, which thus far remain unsubstantiated.
Though previously in favor of banning TikTok, especially during his first administration, Trump said he could “save” the app after winning the 2024 presidential election.
During the short-lived January shutdown, Trump told internet hosting services and app stores that they could restore TikTok and not face legal penalties. Internet hosting services rebooted the platform almost immediately, but the Google Play Store and Apple App Store waited until the following month to restore access.
Under federal legislation, companies could be fined $5,000 per user they help access TikTok. For companies like Google and Apple, this could mean a $5,000 fine for each user who downloads or updates TikTok.
How many times could Trump extend the deadline?
Under federal legislation, the president can implement a 90-day extension of the deadline in order for a sale to be finalized. However, Trump didn’t take this route in January. Instead, he signed the first executive order delaying the ban by 75 days.
If he wishes to sign yet another executive order in another 75 days, he can.
Who are TikTok's suitors?
Several individuals, companies and consortiums have expressed interest in purchasing TikTok. Most recently, Amazon and the founder of adult content website OnlyFans have thrown their hats into the ring.
On April 2, Tim Stokely, OnlyFans' founder, told Reuters that his startup Zoop had partnered with cryptocurrency organization The HBAR Foundation to submit a bid for TikTok. Reuters also reported last week that an unnamed U.S. administration official had confirmed that Vice President JD Vance and Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had received a letter of interest from Amazon.
Amazon, Zoop, The HBAR Foundation nor TikTok immediately responded for comment when contacted by Paste BN on Thursday.
Here's who else has expressed interest in the platform over the past year:
- Blackstone, a private equity firm, Reuters and New York Times reported. Blackstone would join an existing group of non-Chinese shareholders led by Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic.
- Andreessen Horowitz, a California-based venture capital firm. The firm’s investment would include Oracle, a U.S. tech company.
- Project Liberty, an organization led by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt with the intention of "constructing a new internet infrastructure.". In addition to McCourt, "Shark Tank" investor Kevin O’Leary and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian committed to the bid.
- MrBeast, is part of a consortium of investors led by Employer.com founder and CEO Jesse Tinsley. James “Jimmy” Donaldson, is YouTube's most watched creator.
- Perplexity AI, a U.S.-based search engine, proposed a merger in January, according to Reuters. Rather than a sale, the merger would result in a new entity − a culmination of Perplexity AI and TikTok.
- Bobby Kotick, Doug McMillon, Microsoft and Rumble have also expressed interest in purchasing the platform. Kotick is the former CEO of video game company Activision; Doug McMillon is the CEO of Walmart; Microsoft proposed purchasing the platform with Walmart in 2020; and Rumble is a conservative video streaming platform.
This story was updated to add new information.
Contributing: Reuters