President Trump considers lowering tariffs on China to secure TikTok deal

 

US President Donald Trump has 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.

 ByteDance has an April 5 deadline to find a non-Chinese buyer for TikTok or face a U.S. ban on national security grounds that was supposed to have taken effect in January under a 2024 law.

 The law is the result of concern in Washington that TikTok's ownership by ByteDance makes it beholden to the Chinese government and that Beijing could use the app to conduct influence operations against the United States and collect data on Americans.

 China “is going to have to play a role” in approving a TikTok-related divestiture, Trump said in a press conference Wednesday.

 In addition, Trump stated that if an agreement regarding the social media app was not reached, he would be willing to extend the April deadline. Trump stated, "Maybe I'll give them a small reduction in tariffs or something to get it done." “TikTok is big, but every point in tariffs is worth more than TikTok.”

 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.

 However, at the beginning of this month, Vice President JD Vance stated that he hoped a deal to keep TikTok operating in the United States would be completed by the April 1 deadline. According to NBC News, Vance did not provide any specifics regarding the potential buyers but did mention that some issues could delay a final agreement beyond the deadline. China's commerce ministry said its position on the tariff issue is consistent and that Beijing is willing to engage with Washington on the basis of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit, during a regular news conference on Thursday.