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By Mandy Taheri and Gabe Whisnant
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President Donald Trump reportedly had a deal in place as of Wednesday to spin off ByteDance's TikTok and its American operations into a new U.S.-based company that would be majority-owned and managed by U.S. investors, while allowing the Chinese parent company to retain a minority stake, a person familiar with negotiations told the Associated Press (AP).
Newsweek has reached out to the White House and ByteDance's press team for comment and confirmation via email on Friday.
Why It Matters
TikTok, a popular video-sharing application owned by the China-based company ByteDance, has faced significant legal and regulatory challenges in the United States.
Read More on U.S.
In January, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld Congress' right to force TikTok's sale based on national security concerns. Shortly after taking office, Trump issued an executive order delaying enforcement of the ban for 75 days, temporarily allowing TikTok to continue operating in the U.S.
Under that executive order, TikTok must finalize a U.S. sale by April 5; otherwise, the ban will take effect. But on Friday, Trump announced he will sign an executive order to keep TikTok operational in the U.S. for an additional 75 days.
News that the reported deal fell through comes just after Trump announced sweeping global tariffs, rattling domestic and international markets and triggering a wave of retaliatory measures. China issued theirs on Friday.
What To Know
The agreement fell apart on Thursday, the day after Trump announced a massive package of reciprocal tariffs, including new measures targeting China.
The source, who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks, said that following the announcement, ByteDance representatives contacted the White House to relay that the Chinese government would no longer approve the deal unless broader discussions around trade and tariffs were initiated.
The proposed arrangement had been in the works for months, with Vice President JD Vance's team holding direct negotiations with ByteDance officials and several potential American investors.
According to the source, the Trump administration had been confident that Beijing would green-light the deal—until the tariffs were imposed.
A spokesperson for ByteDance confirmed to AP that the company has been discussing a "potential solution" with the U.S. government but noted that an "agreement has not been executed."
"There are key matters to be resolved," the spokesperson said. "Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law."
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On Friday, the president delayed the ban of the popular app for the second time, writing on Truth Social: "My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress. The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days."
Trump added, "We do not want TikTok to 'go dark,'" saying that the administration looks "forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal."
The president has repeatedly emphasized his business background and claimed that tariffs will combat trade imbalances and restore America's manufacturing industry. He hailed the tariffs as the country's "declaration of economic independence."
But many Americans, including some Republicans, have voiced concerns over the state of the economy following his sweeping tariffs. Wall Street tumbled to its worst week in five years, as global markets brace for the impact of Trump's tariffs targeting 180 countries.
By market close on Friday, the S&P 500 index was down nearly 6 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 5.5 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index lost 5.82 percent. Trump has insisted that markets will "boom" as a result of his trade war.
What People Are Saying
Vance, in an early March news release on the sale: "There will almost certainly be a high-level agreement that I think satisfies our national security concerns, allows there to be a distinct American TikTok enterprise."
TikTok CEO Shou Chew, in a video on the platform in January after the first ban was lifted: "On behalf of everyone at TikTok and all our users across the country, I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States."
What Happens Next
Trump will sign an executive order that would extend TikTok's U.S. operations another 75 days, postponing the deadline to June 19.
The 10 percent "baseline" tariff on all imports will kick in on Saturday and the "discounted reciprocal" tariffs targeting America's most prominent trading partners will take effect on April 9.
China announced 34 percent tariffs on all U.S. imports on Friday.
Reporting by the Associated Press contributed to this article.
Update 4/4/25, 5:20 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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