US President Donald Trump has extended ByteDance’s deadline to divest its TikTok operations in the US by another 75 days.
“My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress,” the president announced on Truth Social on Friday (April 4), just a day before the April 5 deadline.
“The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days.”
This marks the second reprieve for the social media platform. Earlier this year, shortly after his inauguration as president, Trump signed a 75-day extension for TikTok to continue operating in the US amid efforts to find a buyer.
The extended deadline has attracted several potential investors seeking to acquire TikTok’s US business. Among the reported buyers are Amazon; Oracle; billionaire Frank McCourt and Jesse Tinsley, founder of payroll company Employer.com; and Zoop, a startup run by Tim Stokely, founder of adult entertainment platform OnlyFans, among others.
Trump’s latest extension pushes to mid-June the deadline for ByteDance to either sell TikTok’s US business or face a nationwide ban under the divest-or-ban legislation that passed Congress in April 2024, with former President Joe Biden signing the bill into law shortly after.
“The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days.”
Donald Trump, US President
Reuters reported over the weekend, citing a source, that the deal nearly finalized by Wednesday (April 2) would have spun off Tiktok’s US operation in a new US-based entity that is majority-owned by US investors. The deal would have seen ByteDance retaining a minority stake below 20%, the maximum allowable under the new law.
However, talks collapsed on Thursday (April 3), according to the Associated Press, after Trump announced sweeping global tariffs that raised duties on Chinese goods imports by an additional 34%, bringing the total tariff on Chinese goods to 54%.
In response, China hit back with 34% retaliatory tariffs on all US imports, starting this Thursday (April 10).
“This practice of the US is not in line with international trade rules, seriously undermines China’s legitimate rights and interests, and is a typical unilateral bullying practice,” China’s State Council Tariff Commission said in a statement on Friday (April 4).
China also placed export restrictions on key rare earth elements for all countries on Friday. The China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association said the move is not expected to affect the stability of the international supply chain.
“China has stated its position on TikTok on multiple occasions. China has always respected and protected the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises and opposed practices that violate the basic principles of the market economy.”
Chinese Embassy in Washington
Meanwhile, a source told the AP that ByteDance representatives contacted the White House to inform them that China would no longer approve the deal on TikTok unless negotiations on the China tariffs could take place.
“China has stated its position on TikTok on multiple occasions. China has always respected and protected the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises and opposed practices that violate the basic principles of the market economy,” the Chinese Embassy in Washington was quoted by Reuters as saying when asked about the status of a deal for TikTok.
ByteDance acknowledged the developments, saying in a statement on WeChat on Saturday, “(We are) still in talks with the US government, but no agreement has been reached, and the two sides still have differences on many key issues.
“In accordance with Chinese law, any agreement is subject to the relevant review procedures,” ByteDance reportedly said.
The law requiring ByteDance’s divestiture was prompted by concerns that the Chinese government could use TikTok to collect data on American users or conduct influence operations.
TikTok, which claims to have more than 170 million users in the US, has repeatedly denied these allegations.
Meanwhile, Trump said, “We hope to continue working in Good Faith with China, who I understand are not very happy about our Reciprocal Tariffs (Necessary for Fair and Balanced Trade between China and the U.S.A.!).
“This proves that Tariffs are the most powerful Economic tool, and very important to our National Security! We do not want TikTok to ‘go dark.’ We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
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