Trump to extend TikTok ban enforcement deadline after China tariffs derail deal

Clare Duffy Clare Duffy
Apr 15, 2025 - 12:09 Updated: Apr 15, 2025 - 12:12
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Trump to extend TikTok ban enforcement deadline after China tariffs derail deal

President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he will again postpone enforcement of the TikTok sale-or-ban law for 75 days. The delay comes after Trump’s tariff announcement derailed a deal that had been set to transfer control of the app’s US operations to American ownership, a source familiar with the deal told CNN.

“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,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Trump on Friday signed an executive order formalizing the delay in enforcement, a source familiar with the order told CNN.

The announcement comes just one day before the ban was set to go into effect, after Trump delayed by an initial 75 days it when he took office in January.

Former President Joe Biden signed a law last year that required TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to divest the app or face a US ban, over national security concerns. The law was set to go into effect in January, but Trump said he would delay its enforcement in hopes of reaching a deal to keep the app “alive.”

Related articleTrump to weigh options for potential TikTok deal, sources say, with ban days away

Both Trump and Vice President JD Vance — who was tapped with leading the TikTok dealmaking effort — repeatedly said in recent days that they expected there would be a deal by the April 5 deadline.

A deal was finalized on Wednesday and Trump was expected to formally sign off on it in an executive order later this week, the source familiar with the deal said. The order would have kicked off a 120-day period to finish financing and paperwork for the deal, which would have seen a number of venture capital, private equity funds and tech giants invest in a company that would control TikTok’s US operations. TikTok’s China-based owner, ByteDance, would have retained a 20% stake in the spinoff company.

For the deal to comply with the law, ByteDance can own no more than 20% of the platform. It also states that the app’s US operations cannot coordinate with ByteDance on the app’s algorithm or data sharing practices.

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New and existing US TikTok investors, ByteDance and the Trump administration had all agreed to the deal, the source said, but that changed after Trump announced his additional 34% tariff on China. Representatives for ByteDance informed the White House on Thursday morning that China was pulling out of the deal until negotiations were held regarding the tariffs.

Trump and the White House team overseeing the deal ultimately decided on Friday to delay enforcement of the ban by another 75 days as it was unclear where the talks would go from here.  Trump did not offer any details on the progress of the potential deal in his Friday post, but indicated more time is needed to finalize it.  Trump’s promise to further delay enforcing the ban will likely mean that TikTok’s 170 million American users can continue to use the popular short-form video app for the foreseeable future.

But the delay in reaching a formal deal raises questions about the app’s long-term future, given the escalating trade war between the United States and China. The Chinese government has offered little public indication that it would be willing to approve a sale.  “We hope to continue working in Good Faith with China, who I understand are not very happy about our Reciprocal Tariffs,” Trump said in his post, adding, “We do not want TikTok to ‘go dark.’”  “We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal,” he said.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A ByteDance spokesperson said Friday that the TikTok parent company “has been in discussion with the US government regarding a potential solution for TikTok US,” a rare acknowledgement from the company that it is engaged in talks with the White House.

“An agreement has not been executed. There are key matters to be resolved. Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law,” the ByteDance spokesperson said in a statement.

It’s unclear how members of Congress — who largely agreed on a bipartisan basis last year that the app posed a national security risk, an opinion that the Supreme Court unanimously upheld — might respond to a second delay. The law allowed for a single, 90-day extension of the deadline if the president could certify to Congress that “significant progress” had been made toward a deal.

“Congress could do something, the GOP could lean on Trump and say, ‘get this done, stop this lawless behavior,’” said Carl Tobias, professor at the University of Richmond School of Law. “The first extension was not right, it violated what Congress intended, which was to protect national security. And this just compounds that whole issue.”

TikTok went offline in the United States the day before Inauguration Day for around 14 hours. When it came back online, the app displayed a message thanking Trump for saying he would delay the enforcement of the ban.

“We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States,” TikTok said at the time.  TikTok CEO Shou Chew attended Trump’s inauguration, seated on stage along the cabinet secretaries and other tech CEOs.  Jeremy Goldman, Emarketer principal analyst, said the extension is straight out of Trump’s “playbook.”

“Drag out the clock, extract leverage, keep the drama simmering, and above all, make sure TikTok stays just visible enough to keep the dealmaking sharks circling,” Goldman said in emailed commentary Friday. “As long as TikTok is in limbo, Trump can keep using it as a bargaining chip in his larger geopolitical trade saga with China.”