Trump extends TikTok deadline to divest, says China is ‘unhappy’ about tariffs

US president says White House ‘has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK’, and is willing to talk to Beijing about it

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A general view of the offices of TikTok, as the site faces an April 5 deadline to reach a deal to find a non-Chinese buyer under threat of being banned from the United States, in Culver City, California on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:53am, 5 Apr 2025Updated: 8:29am, 5 Apr 2025

US President Donald Trump on Friday failed to outline a deal to sell Chinese-owned TikTok to American investors, and issued an executive order pushing back the deadline to finalise an agreement, which will keep the popular short-video app alive.

He once again linked the TikTok issue with tariffs on China, acknowledging Beijing’s dissatisfaction about the 34 per cent in new duties he imposed on Chinese imports on Wednesday.

“My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress. The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days,” he said in a social media post.

A representative of ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent, said in a statement that it had been in “discussion with the US Government regarding a potential solution for TikTok US.”

“An agreement has not been executed. There are key matters to be resolved. Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law,” it added.

Trump said his administration hoped to “continue working in Good Faith with China, who I understand are not very happy about our Reciprocal Tariffs (Necessary for Fair and Balanced Trade between China and the U.S.A.!)”