Trump was poised to sign an executive order approving a deal that would have seen TikTok’s U.S. operations spun off into a new company, a source familiar with the negotiations told The Hill.
This would have allowed the popular social media app to continue operating in the U.S. in the face of a law requiring its China-based parent company ByteDance to divest from the app or face a ban.
However, ByteDance representatives told the White House after Trump’s tariff announcement Wednesday that China would no longer approve the deal without negotiations on tariffs, according to the source.
It had been expected that China would approve a proposed deal that had been in the works for months until the tariffs were announced by Trump.
The White House has not publicly commented on the apparent backing out.
While speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Thursday, Trump used China and TikTok as an example of using tariffs to negotiate.
“We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say we’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs. The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have. I’ve used them very well in the first administration. Now we’re taking it to a whole new level,” Trump said.
When asked if these were talks he was having with China he said, “No I’m just using that as an example.”
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
