US President Donald Trump on Sunday said that China’s opposition to the fresh US tariffs have led to a delay in sealing the deal to sell off TikTok. Trump insisted that China would agree to the deal “in 15 minutes” if he eases the 34% tariffs on all Chinese imports.
“If I gave a little cut in tariffs, they’d approve that deal in 15 minutes, which shows you the power of tariffs,” Trump said.
Trump on April 4 had given 75 days of extension for TikTok to find another Chinese buyer or face a ban in the United States of America. The announcement came after US imposed additional 34% tariffs on all Chinese imports.
Earlier, the US President had said that a solution over TikTok was near and had also mentioned that prospective buyers, dismissing talks of shutting down TikTok in the US. However, he did not reveal any details regarding the same.
TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, is a popular video-sharing app with over 170 million users in the US, including many small businesses.
In 2024, the US government had ordered that TikTok’s US operations be separated from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. The app must either sell its US business to a US-based buyer or face being completely shut down in the country.
In a response to AFP, ByteDance confirmed that it is currently in discussions with the US government to find a solution for the sale of TikTok’s US operations, but pointed out that there are still some key issues to be addressed first. The company also stated that no agreement has been finalised, and any decision would need approval under the Chinese law.