TikTok sale on hold after China objects Trump’s tariffs

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A plan to separate TikTok’s US operations from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, was put on hold after China signaled that it would not approve the deal. 

This came shortly after Donald Trump announced a sharp increase in tariffs on Chinese goods, which heightened tensions between the two countries. 

The US government has long been concerned that the Chinese government could use TikTok to spy on Americans or influence public opinion. 

In 2024, a law was passed that required ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US business to a non-Chinese buyer or face a nationwide ban.

To comply with the law and avoid the ban, which was originally supposed to take effect in January, ByteDance had been working on a deal to spin off TikTok’s US arm into a new American-based company. 

The proposed plan would have given US investors majority ownership and control, with ByteDance retaining less than a 20% stake to meet US legal requirements. 

What’s happening with TikTok in the US?

According to Reuters, the deal had already received approval from current and new investors, ByteDance, and even the US government. 

However, ByteDance later stated that important differences still remained in negotiations with US officials and emphasized that, under Chinese law, any sale must go through China’s formal approval process.

The situation became more complicated when China expressed disapproval of the deal, especially after Trump announced new tariffs that raised the total tariff rate on Chinese imports to 54%. 

China retaliated with its own tariffs, and while Trump acknowledged that China was unhappy, he extended the TikTok deadline by 75 days to allow more time for the deal to move forward. 

He said the US still hopes to work “in good faith” with China and emphasized that he does not want TikTok to “go dark” for American users.

Despite these efforts, a major hurdle remains: the Chinese government has not publicly agreed to let ByteDance sell TikTok’s US assets. 

Trump mentioned that his administration is in touch with four different investor groups interested in the deal, though he didn’t name them. 

Meanwhile, sources say that US investment firms like Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic, both of which have ties to ByteDance’s board, are leading discussions with the White House. 

The proposed structure would spin off TikTok into a US company and reduce Chinese ownership below the 20% mark.

While Congress passed the law with strong bipartisan support, warning that TikTok could pose a national security risk, enforcement has been uneven. 

Trump delayed action after taking office again in January, and the Justice Department also chose not to force Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores. 

Now, with a new mid-June deadline in place, the future of TikTok in the US hangs in the balance as both countries wrestle.

What do you think about TikTok’s future in the US? Do you think it will spin off, or will we see it leave US altogether? Tell us what you think below in the comments, or via our Twitter or Facebook.