Donald Trump has given TikTok a 75-day extension for the second time, since threatening to and then (temporarily) banning it at the beginning of his presidency in January.
A Congress law, dating from six months ago, requires TikTok to either sell its US operation or face a ban in the USA.
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“We do not want TikTok to ‘go dark’,” Trump wrote on Truth Social (a Trump-funded platform similar to Twitter).
“We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal.”
TikTok is owned by ByteDance, which is Chinese.
“Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law,” said a ByteDance spokesperson.
Biden’s administration wanted TikTok banned too — arguing that it was being used as a Chinese spy tool. But many have said it would obstruct freedom of speech.
Reportedly, Trumps’ tariffs led to the dissolution of a deal which was in construction.
But buyers are cropping up — including Amazon, rumour has it, and Microsoft.
China faces an eye-watering 54% aggregate tariff on goods imported into the US, and has hit the USA with 34% in relatiative tariffs.
Trump has also said that it would buy off China’s approval to sell TikTok by reducing its tariffs.
