A finalized TikTok deal was pulled Thursday after President Trump announced massive new tariffs against China, a source familiar with the negotiations told The Hill.
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, allowing 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 on Thursday.
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.”
Trump announced Friday he would sign an executive order giving TikTok another 75-day extension, saying they had made “tremendous progress” but the deal required “more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed.”
In his announcement on Truth Social, the president noted that China was unhappy with the new tariffs.
“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.!),” Trump wrote.
“This proves that Tariffs are the most powerful Economic tool, and very important to our National Security!” he added.
The Trump administration levied a 34 percent tariff on Beijing as part of a sweeping new slate of reciprocal tariffs. On top of earlier import taxes, Chinese goods now face more than 50 percent in tariffs when coming to the U.S.
Prior to the tariff announcement, the TikTok deal had been approved by existing investors, new investors, ByteDance and the U.S. government, the source told The Hill.
Under the agreement, TikTok’s U.S. operations would be owned and operated by a majority of American investors, while ByteDance would maintain a minority stake in the company.
Both Trump and Vice President Vance appeared confident earlier this week that a deal was imminent.
When asked Sunday whether he would extend the deadline if necessary, the president said, “There’ll be a deal with TikTok.” However, he added, “We would,” seemingly in response to the extension question.
The administration had until Saturday to prevent a TikTok ban from going into effect, after Trump signed an executive order on his first day office delaying enforcement of the divest-or-ban law for 75 days.
Vance, who was tasked with brokering a deal alongside national security advisor Mike Waltz, said Thursday morning that it would “come out before the deadline.”
“We’ve got to wait a couple days to continue working on it, to finalize some things, and of course we’re going to let the president announce whatever we ultimately decide,” Vance told Fox News.
Updated at 6:01 p.m. EDT
