U.S. President Donald Trump stated that if China cooperates in selling the U.S. business rights of the Chinese short-form video platform TikTok to an American company, tariffs on China could be reduced.
According to Bloomberg on the 26th (local time), President Trump announced automobile tariffs at the White House and said, "China will have a role to play in this process. Perhaps in the form of approval for the sale of TikTok's U.S. business rights, and I believe China will do so."
He also said, "Maybe we can lower the tariffs a little or resolve this issue in that way," adding, "Every point of the tariff is worth more than TikTok." Since taking office, President Trump has imposed a 20% tariff on all products imported from China.
President Trump expects the outline of the TikTok sale to emerge by next week but said he would extend the deadline if the agreement is not finalized. He stated, "We will make some form of deal, but if it is not finished, it is not a big problem. We will just extend it," adding, "I have the right to make a deal, and if I want, I have the right to extend."
According to a law signed last year by former President Joe Biden, TikTok's parent company ByteDance was required to sell TikTok's U.S. business by January 19. However, President Trump signed an executive order delaying the enforcement of the law for 75 days shortly after taking office, preventing TikTok from experiencing an unprecedented service shutdown. The delay expires on April 5. Although President Trump initially opposed TikTok, he reversed his stance after significantly expanding his influence among young people during the election period thanks to TikTok.
Earlier this month, President Trump revealed that he was negotiating with four parties to acquire TikTok. Although he did not disclose specific names, it is known that Oracle, a consortium including Frank McCourt, former LA Dodgers owner, and Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, a consortium of a tech company with Jesse Tinsley and popular YouTuber MrBeast, and AI search startup Perplexity have entered the bidding.
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