‘We could use tariffs in order to get something in return,’ the president told reporters.
President Donald Trump said on April 3 that he would potentially consider an agreement where China agrees to approve the sale of social media platform TikTok from its parent company ByteDance in return for relief from the tariffs he recently imposed on the nation’s imports.
The president made his comments while speaking with reporters in front of Air Force One, saying the TikTok sale is an example of how he could use tariffs as negotiation tactics with other nations.
“You have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say: ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’” Trump said. “We could use tariffs in order to get something in return.”
There is a looming April 5 deadline by which TikTok must reach a deal with a non-Chinese buyer or face a potential ban in the United States. Congress passed legislation last year mandating a divestment of the app’s U.S. operations from the Beijing-based ByteDance.
Multiple investors are involved in reaching a sale of the short video application, Trump said, and his administration is “very close” to finalizing a deal.
The comments come one day after Trump announced sweeping 10 percent baseline tariffs on all U.S. trading partners, including reciprocal tariffs of upwards to 50 percent on several countries.
China will now face a 54 percent total tariff on all of its products imported into the United States after Trump added a 34 percent reciprocal tariff on top of the existing 20 percent tariff levied on China earlier this year.
In an interview with Fox News on April 3, Vice President JD Vance said the administration’s decision on an American buyer for TikTok would come ahead of the April 5 deadline.
“It’ll come out before the deadline,” Vance said. “I think that we’re in a good place. We’re going to keep on working at it.
“We’ve got a couple days to continue working on it, to finalize some things and, of course, we’re going to let the president announce whatever we ultimately decide.”
By Jacob Burg
