President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday night that the United States was “pretty close” to a TikTok divestment deal until China dodged on a sale of the platform because of the tariffs Trump announced against the country on his “Liberation Day” rollout.
The Washington Examiner previously reported that a deal was finalized between American investors and TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, that would allow the social media platform to continue operating within the U.S. After the White House slapped a 34% tariff on China, however, the country flipped its position and ByteDance said it could not agree to a sale.
Trump confirmed that reporting in comments to the media aboard Air Force One.
“We had a deal pretty much for TikTok — not a deal but pretty close — and then China changed the deal because of tariffs,” the president said.
He also touted the power of tariffs by saying that if he gave China a “little cut” in the tax the TikTok deal would have been approved in “15 minutes.”
“If I gave a little cut in tariffs, they’d approve that deal in 15 minutes, which shows you the power of tariffs, right?” Trump said.
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After the deal failed to come to fruition, Trump announced that the deadline for TikTok to find a U.S. buyer would be extended for 75 days. The previous deadline was April 5, and Vice President JD Vance was tapped to lead the administration’s efforts to find a U.S. buyer for the company.