Photo Credit: Solen Feyissa
President Trump is ready to extend TikTok’s deadline for a federal ban for the third time as the White House prepares to hold trade talks with China.
The previous extension to the law that forces TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest the app in the US or face a federal ban expires June 19. However, the White House is expected to hold tariff discussions with China this week.
“The president has said he’s willing to [announce another extension] if it has to happen,” said a government official close to the situation on Tuesday, adding that the Chinese government “just want[s] to hold this up as leverage in the trade talks.”
According to a Wall Street banker involved in the deal to sell the app to US investors said Trump could be persuaded to let TikTok disappear from app stores on June 19—if he believes it will give him a strategic advantage in negotiations with China.
The Biden administration signed the law to force divestiture or face a ban on TikTok to go into effect on January 19, the day before Trump’s inauguration. Once he took office, Trump promptly signed an executive order to push the ban by 90 days.
Trump then announced a second extension in April, claiming they were close to reaching a deal that would allow TikTok to be controlled by a majority-US company, while a minority stake would be retained by Beijing-based ByteDance. Should that deal be completed, the consortium of private sector names will be led by tech giant Oracle, founded by Trump supporter and friend Larry Ellison.
But that deal quickly went belly up when Trump launched his extensive trade tariffs, with especially rigid sanctions against China: a 145% rate. That rate was already reduced to 30% last month, as talks for a final deal resumed.
Trump was previously a critic of TikTok, seeking to get it banned during his first term. He has since turned around on the platform, believing it was integral to his reelection in 2024.
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