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President Donald Trump suggests that if Beijing allows Beitch Dance, the Chinese owner of Tiktok, to sell the highly popular video sharing app to avoid a ban in the US, it could cut tariffs on Chinese goods.
“We have a situation in Tiktok where China will probably approve the deal, but we’ll do something with tariffs,” Trump said he was in Air Force 1. “Taxes give us great power to negotiate.”
The comments come a day after Trump imposed “mutual” tariffs on dozens of countries, including a 34% collection on imports from China, following the 20% tariffs he imposed earlier this year.
Trump also said his administration was “very close” to reaching deals with “multiple investors” that would allow Tiktok to continue operating in the US. Congress passed legislation last year requiring apps to be sold or face a nationwide ban. Trump has extended the sales deadline until Saturday.
Lawmakers passed the law to address security concerns about possible Chinese government impact on Tiktok’s algorithms. Security officials are also concerned that Tiktok’s ownership of Baitedan will allow Beijing to retrieve personal data from millions of Americans.
“We’re very close to dealing with a group of very good people,” Trump said.
Earlier on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance told Fox News that the deal “will come before the deadline.”
This week, the White House held talks to beat the outline of a deal that tastes good for Republicans, yet tastes good for the Chinese government, which needs to be blessed.
The administration has weighed and looked at proposals to spin off Tiktok from Chinese parents. According to several people familiar with the issue, it will create a new US entity and include fresh American investments to dilute the ownership of Chinese investors.
Under the proposal, new outside investors, including Andreesen Horowitz, Blackstone, Silverlake and other major private capital companies, would own about half of Tiktok’s US operations, people said.
Large existing investors in Tiktok, including Atlantic General, Susquehanna, KKR and Kote, own 30% of the US entities, with the ordinance holding less than 20% of the stake.
This means that it complies with the requirements of US law and more than a fifth of the company is not controlled by “foreign enemies.” Oracle, on the other hand, provides data security to your company.
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But one big flash point is to control Tiktok’s highly sought after algorithms. One option under discussion was to continue to develop and operate algorithms, which is central demand for the Chinese government, but people said the new US group could access it through licensing agreements.
However, the Chinese Hawks and legal scholars argue that the algorithm must be fully operated by a US entity to meet the requirements of the law. Several members of the Trump administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz, were voiced opponents that would allow China to maintain control of the app when it serves in Congress.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment. A representative from Baite Dance did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
