Trump Extends TikTok Deal Deadline, Delaying a Potential Ban

President Trump on Friday granted TikTok one other reprieve by saying that he would lengthen the deadline for when the favored app needed to make a deal to be separated from its Chinese language proprietor, ByteDance, or face a ban in the US.

TikTok, which had been dealing with a Saturday deadline for a deal, now has one other 75 days to discover a new proprietor to adjust to a federal legislation that requires it to alter its construction to resolve nationwide safety issues. That places the brand new deadline for a deal in mid-June.

The delay was President Trump’s second for TikTok this yr. He first paused enforcement of the legislation in January, even after it was unanimously upheld by the Supreme Courtroom.

“The Deal requires extra work to make sure all needed approvals are signed,” Mr. Trump wrote in a submit on Reality Social on Friday, including that “we don’t need TikTok to ‘go darkish.’” He added that he seemed ahead to “working with TikTok and China” to shut the deal and urged he would think about using the app as a negotiating chip with China on tariffs.

Mr. Trump’s newest motion highlights the intractable nature of the dilemma with TikTok, which has endured years of scrutiny in the US over its Chinese language ties. At the same time as lawmakers and U.S. officers repeatedly raised questions on whether or not TikTok was safe, the app cemented its function as a cultural juggernaut, with greater than 170 million customers within the nation who use it to make memes and share movies.

The extension is going on at a very fraught time in U.S.-China relations. This week, Mr. Trump levied a 34 p.c tariff on items from China. On Friday, Beijing retaliated with 34 p.c across-the-board tariffs on imports from the US. Mr. Trump has repeatedly urged he might decrease the China tariffs as a part of a deal for the app, which can want the Chinese language authorities’s approval.