Trump addresses the future of TikTok deal amid tariff battle with China

With tensions rising between the U.S. and China in the battle over tariffs, the fate of the China-based social media platform, TikTok, hangs in the balance.

President Trump moved to ban the popular social media platform in 2020 over security concerns, but has since changed his tune and has been striving to “save” TikTok by reaching a compromise with China.

In January 2025, Trump talked about buying part of TikTok as a proposed deal.

Trump just did a live negotiation on the purchase of TikTok

Art of the deal LIVE. pic.twitter.com/vLyofP04K0

— Derrick Evans (@DerrickEvans4WV) January 21, 2025

Fast forward to the “tariff wars,” and Trump is saying he’s still considering a TikTok deal, but admits it might be a while before that happens.

“China’s not thrilled with signing it,” Trump said of a potential deal while answering questions from reporters at the White House on Wednesday. “We’re going to have to wait to see what happens,” Trump continued, but insisted a TikTok deal is still “very much” on the table.

While Trump remains hopeful of a TikTok deal, he didn’t back down on allegations against the communist country for “ripping off” America for decades and signaled he’d be sticking to his guns on tariffs.

Last week, the president addressed the issue on Truth Social, saying his administration has been working “very hard” to save TikTok and has made “tremendous progress.”

President Trump extends Tik Tok deadline for 75 days. “The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed.” pic.twitter.com/hA2ETYc0X4

— Jared Halpern (@JaredHalpern) April 4, 2025

“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,” his post read.

“We hope 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.!). This proves that Tariffs are the most powerful Economic tool, and very important to our National Security!”

“We do not want TikTok to ‘go dark.’  We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Stay tuned!

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