Trump says he would consider reducing China tariffs if there's a deal on
TikTok
[March 27, 2025] By
SARAH PARVINI
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would consider a reduction
in tariffs on China if that country's government approves a sale of
TikTok's operations in the United States.
Speaking with reporters at the Oval Office, Trump said the move "sounds
like something I’d do.” The president's comments came less than two
weeks before an April deadline requiring TikTok's China-based parent
company ByteDance to divest or face a U.S. ban.
Questions about the fate of the popular video sharing app have continued
to linger since a law requiring ByteDance's divestment took effect on
Jan. 19. After taking office, Trump gave TikTok a 75-day reprieve by
signing an executive order that delayed enforcement of the statute until
April 5.
Trump reiterated that the deadline on a TikTok deal could be extended
further if needed. He previously proposed terms in which the U.S. would
have a 50% stake in a joint venture. The administration hasn’t provided
details on what that type of deal would entail.
But earlier this month, Vice President JD Vance said he was hopeful a
deal to keep TikTok operating in the U.S. will be wrapped up by the
early April deadline. NBC News reported that Vance did not offer details
on who the potential buyers could be but noted that some issues could
push a final agreement past the deadline.
“We’d like to get it done without the extension,” Vance told the news
outlet. “I think the question is, what is the equity ownership of the
new joint venture? How do you do the contracts for all the investors,
the customers, the service providers? … The deal itself will be very
clear, but actually creating those thousands and thousands of pages of
legal documents, that’s the one thing that I worry could slip.”
TikTok and ByteDance have not publicly commented on the talks. It’s also
unclear if ByteDance has changed its position on selling TikTok, which
it said early last year it does not plan to do.
What will happen on April 5?
If TikTok is not sold to an approved buyer by April 5, the original law
that bans it nationwide would once again go into effect. However, the
deadline for the executive order doesn’t appear to be set in stone and
the president has reiterated it could be extended further if needed.
Trump’s order came a few days after the Supreme Court unanimously upheld
a federal law that required ByteDance to divest or be banned in January.
The day after the ruling, TikTok went dark for U.S. users and came back
online after Trump vowed to stall the ban.
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 During his first term, Trump tried
to ban TikTok on national security grounds, which was halted by the
courts before his administration negotiated a sale of the platform
that eventually failed to materialize. He changed his position on
the popular app during last year’s presidential election and has
credited the platform with helping him win more young voters.
The decision to keep TikTok alive through an executive order has
received some scrutiny, but it has not faced a legal challenge in
court.
Who wants to buy TikTok?
Although it’s unclear if ByteDance plans to sell TikTok, several
potential bidders have come forward in the past few months.
Aides for Vance, who was tapped to oversee a potential deal, have
reached out to some parties, such as the artificial intelligence
startup Perplexity AI, to get additional details about their bids,
according to a person familiar with the matter. In January,
Perplexity AI presented ByteDance with a merger proposal that would
combine Perplexity’s business with TikTok’s U.S. operation.
Other potential bidders include a consortium organized by
billionaire businessman Frank McCourt, which recently recruited
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian as a strategic advisor. Investors
in the consortium say they’ve offered ByteDance $20 billion in cash
for TikTok’s U.S. platform. And if successful, they plan to redesign
the popular app with blockchain technology they say will provide
users with more control over their online data.
Jesse Tinsley, the founder of the payroll firm Employer.com, says he
too has organized a consortium, which includes the CEO of the video
game platform Roblox, and is offering ByteDance more than $30
billion for TikTok.
Trump said in January that Microsoft was also eyeing the popular
app. Other interested parties include Trump’s former Treasury
secretary Steve Mnuchin and Rumble, the video site popular with some
conservatives and far-right groups. In a post on X last March,
Rumble said it was ready to join a consortium of parties interested
in purchasing TikTok and serving as a tech partner for the company.
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Associated Press writer Chris Megerian contributed to this report.
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