Trump says China's objections to tariffs stalled TikTok deal

Annmarie Hordern and Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Bloomberg News on Apr 6, 2025

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China’s objections to new U.S. tariffs stalled a deal to sell off TikTok and keep it operating in the U.S., President Donald Trump said Sunday.

“We had a deal pretty much for TikTok — not a deal but pretty close — and then China changed the deal because of tariffs,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he returned to Washington after a weekend of golf in Florida. “If I gave a little cut in tariffs they would have approved that deal in 15 minutes, which shows the power of tariffs.”

Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, have been working on an agreement to sell the popular social media app, owned by ByteDance Ltd., to an American buyer, as required by a bipartisan law enacted in 2024.

But China also needs to sign off on the plan.

Before Trump announced widespread tariffs on Wednesday, a deal was reportedly close, advanced by a consortium of US investors including Oracle Corp., Blackstone Inc. and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

But that agreement was not publicly announced, and according to Trump China’s objections impeded a pact. The Washington Post reported earlier that Trump’s moves to heighten tariffs on China stalled the talks.

Trump had said he would be willing to cut a deal with China to lower tariffs if the country agreed to a TikTok sale.

Under the 2024 law, ByteDance was required to divest TikTok’s U.S. unit by Jan. 19, but the company has balked at selling a lucrative business, which has been valued from $20 billion to as high as $150 billion. Trump on Friday signed a 75-day extension from the divest-or-ban requirement. rump previously extended the divest-or-ban requirement, and on Friday signed another 75-day extension.

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(With assistance from Hadriana Lowenkron and Stephanie Lai.)