Donald Trump extends TikTok sale deadline by 75 days: Did tariff plan affect deal?

While ByteDance now has until June 19 to reach a deal, a report by the Associated Press suggested that an agreement was already in place on Wednesday.

Updated on: Apr 5, 2025, 10:22:40 IST

By HT News Desk

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US President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order extending the deadline for the sale of TikTok’s operations in the country by another 75 days.

(FILES) In this photo illustration, the social media application logo, TikTok is displayed on the screen of an iPhone on an American flag background on August 3, 2020 in Arlington, Virginia. (AFP)

While ByteDance now has until June 19 to reach a deal, a report by the Associated Press suggested that an agreement was already in place on Wednesday but collapsed after Trump announced wide-ranging reciprocal tariffs, including against China.

The deal would have seen the app's operations being spun off into a new company based in the US and owned and operated by a majority of American investors, with ByteDance maintaining a minority position, the report said, quoting sources. According to Reuters, the Chinese company would have held a 20 percent stake in the new spinoff.

ByteDance representatives reportedly called the White House on Thursday to indicate that China would no longer approve the deal until there could be negotiations about trade and tariffs.

The near-deal was constructed over the course of months, with Vice President JD Vance’s team negotiating directly with several potential investors and officials from ByteDance, AP reported.

The Trump administration had confidence that China would approve the proposed deal until the tariffs went into effect.

But by Friday, it was uncertain whether a tentative deal could be announced after the Chinese government’s reversal of its position complicated TikTok’s ability to send clear signals about the nature of the agreement that had been reached, for fear of upsetting its negotiations with Chinese regulators. Trump instead announced he was signing an executive order to extend by an additional 75 days the congressionally mandated ban that was set to go into effect Saturday.

Donald Trump's second extension of the TikTok deadline

Donald Trump's Friday executive order is the second extension he has given to ByteDance to reach a deal to sell its US operations. The short video app was briefly banned on January 19, a day before the Republican took office, due to national security law. Trump gave the company a deadline of April 5 on his first day in office.

Several buyers are reportedly interested in acquiring TikTok, one of the most popular apps in the United States. These include Jeff Bezos’ Amazon and OnlyFans.

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HT News Desk
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