Trump dangles possibility of lower tariffs for China to make TikTok sale happen

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Mar 26, 2025 8:46 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

U.S. President Donald Trump said connected Wednesday helium would beryllium consenting to trim tariffs to get a woody done with TikTok's Chinese genitor ByteDance to merchantability the abbreviated video app utilized by 170 cardinal Americans.

ByteDance has an April 5 deadline to find a non-Chinese purchaser for TikTok oregon look a U.S. prohibition connected nationalist information grounds that was expected to person taken effect successful January nether a 2024 law.

Trump said helium was consenting to widen the deadline if an statement implicit the societal media app was not reached.

"With respect to TikTok, and China is going to person to play a relation successful that, perchance successful the signifier of an approval, maybe, and I deliberation they'll bash that. Maybe I'll springiness them a small simplification successful tariffs oregon thing to get it done," Trump told reporters connected Wednesday.

TikTok did not instantly comment.

Getting China to hold to immoderate woody to springiness up power of the TikTok portion worthy tens of billions of dollars has ever been the biggest sticking constituent to getting immoderate statement finalized. Trump has utilized tariffs arsenic a bargaining spot successful the TikTok negotiations successful the past.

Tariffs threatened earlier

On January 20, his archetypal time successful office, helium warned that helium could enforce tariffs connected China if Beijing failed to o.k. a U.S. woody with TikTok. Earlier this month, Trump hiked his further tariffs connected each imports from China to 20 per cent up from 10 per cent issued successful February.

U.S. Vice-President JD Vance has said helium expects the wide presumption of an statement that resolves the ownership of the societal media level to beryllium reached by April 5.

The aboriginal of the app utilized by astir fractional of each Americans has been up successful the aerial since a law passed past twelvemonth with overwhelming bipartisan enactment requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok by January 19.

The app concisely went acheronian successful January aft the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ban, but flickered backmost to beingness days aboriginal erstwhile Trump took office. Trump rapidly issued an enforcement bid postponing enforcement of the instrumentality to April 5 and said past period that helium could further widen that deadline to springiness himself clip to shepherd a deal.

The White House has been progressive to an unprecedented level successful the intimately watched woody talks, efficaciously playing the relation of concern bank.