Donald Trump continues to try to take control of TikTok. The President of the United States has shown willingness on Wednesday to make customs concessions to China in exchange for a deal on the sale of the social network, as reported by Afp. The president aims for the platform's activities in the United States to be sold to American investors by the Chinese parent company ByteDance, but China has said "no."
"Regarding the TikTok issue, the Chinese side has repeatedly expressed its position. China's stance against additional tariffs is also consistent and clear," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun in response to Trump's idea.
Earlier, the American had said that "China will have to play a role" in the sale. "They may have to approve it, and if they do, maybe I'll give them a small tariff reduction," Trump dangled the bait from the White House.
Trump had just announced an additional 25% tariff on cars manufactured outside the United States, adding to a long list of tariffs determined by the head of state. In the case of Chinese electric cars, already taxed at 100% since August 2024, this will bring tariffs to 125%.
"We will have some sort of agreement" to keep TikTok in the United States, Donald Trump assured.
On January 20, when he took office, he gave ByteDance a 75-day deadline to divest its U.S. operations, until April 5. At the end of this period, if the divestment does not take place, the popular platform will be banned in the United States, where it has 170 million users, based on a law passed last year in the name of national security.
"We will have some sort of agreement," the president repeated. "But if it is not concluded, it doesn't matter. We will simply extend (the deadline). I have the right to extend it if I wish," he added. "TikTok is very popular, very successful, it's doing very well," he said.
In 2020, at the end of his first term, Trump himself tried, unsuccessfully, to ban it in the United States, also in the name of national security.