TikTok Deal With China Still on the Table, Trump Says

The president remains optimistic about a deal with China over TikTok amid the latest trade battle.

The TikTok logo displayed on an iPhone in London on Feb. 28, 2023. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

A deal to sell TikTok to a non-Chinese company and save the popular video-sharing platform from a ban in the United States is still very much “on the table,” President Donald Trump has said.

“Obviously, I would say right now China is not exactly thrilled about signing it,” Trump said on April 9 in the Oval Office, when asked about the status of the TikTok deal amid the latest escalation in the U.S.–China trade war.

Trump’s remarks came after he announced a temporary reduction in reciprocal tariffs on nearly all U.S. trade partners, lowering them to 10 percent for 90 days to allow time for bilateral negotiations. For China, however, he sharply increased tariffs on imports to 145 percent, following Beijing’s decision to impose an 84 percent tariff on U.S. goods in response to Washington’s earlier 104 percent duties.

“We have a deal with some very good people, some very rich companies, that would do a great job with it, but we’re going to have to wait to see what’s going to happen with China,” he said of TikTok.

“It’s on the table very much. I think China’s going to want to do it, actually.”

The future of TikTok in the United States has remained uncertain because of persistent national security concerns, particularly the Chinese communist regime’s ability to force the app’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to hand over the massive amount of data it collects on its users or manipulate the platform’s sophisticated algorithm to change public opinion. These concerns stem in part from China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law, which obligates Chinese companies to cooperate with state intelligence operations when asked.

In response, bipartisan legislation was passed to prohibit U.S. app stores from hosting TikTok unless ByteDance divests itself of the platform. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the measure, ruling that the divest-or-ban law does not violate the First Amendment.

After taking office, Trump gave TikTok an initial 75-day reprieve from the ban, extending the deadline to April 5. The president signed an executive order on April 4 delaying the ban once again and allowing more time for a potential deal to be finalized.

Over the past several weeks, Trump has repeatedly hinted that he is nearing an agreement with China regarding the app’s sale. He has also suggested that the tariffs are playing a role as leverage to pressure Beijing into approving the transaction.

“We had a deal pretty much for TikTok—not a deal but pretty close—and then China changed the deal because of the tariffs,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on April 6, a day after raising tariffs on China to 54 percent.

“If I gave a little cut in tariffs, they'd approve that deal in 15 minutes, which shows you the power of tariffs.”

Among the companies and individuals reportedly interested in acquiring TikTok are online retail giant Amazon and Tim Stokely, the British entrepreneur who founded OnlyFans. ByteDance has not publicly confirmed any negotiations with potential buyers, nor has it officially indicated a willingness to sell the platform.