Trump, "US Government Should Receive Part of TikTok Sale Proceeds"

Service Suspension in the US Announced if Sale Fails After September 15
"Part of Sale Proceeds Must Be Paid to US Government"
TikTok Deal Claimed as US Government's Blueprint, Called a 'Toll'

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] On the 3rd (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that the U.S. government should receive a portion of the transaction amount related to the sale of the Chinese social media platform 'TikTok's' U.S. business.

President Trump told reporters that he would allow the acquisition if the buyer is an American company, but warned that if the merger and acquisition is not completed by the September 15 deadline, TikTok's use within the United States would be banned. This was in reference to TikTok's parent company ByteDance negotiating the sale with Microsoft (MS).

According to The New York Times, this is the first time President Trump has publicly commented on the TikTok acquisition.

Regarding the acquiring party, President Trump said, "I don't care if it's MS or anyone else, a large corporation, or a security company, as long as it is a very American company." He added, "I have set the date around September 15," and emphasized, "At that point, the (TikTok) business in the U.S. will be shut down," and "If MS or anyone else cannot buy it and complete the deal, it will close on September 15."

President Trump also commented on MS's TikTok acquisition, saying, "I think buying 30% is complicated," and suggested that MS might be better off purchasing the entire TikTok rather than just a partial stake.

He particularly stated, "This deal could result in a large amount of funds flowing to China," and insisted that the U.S. government should receive compensation for this transaction. President Trump reiterated, "Since the U.S. government made this deal possible, a portion of the transaction amount should go into the national treasury."

Regarding this, The New York Times reported that President Trump vaguely claimed the U.S. government should receive part of the transaction amount without specifying the method. The New York Times also explained that MS did not provide a specific response to President Trump's remarks.

The day before, MS announced in a statement that CEO Satya Nadella had decided to proceed with the TikTok acquisition after a conversation with President Trump and that negotiations would be completed by September 15 at the latest.