🇺🇸 Donald Trump’s administration was close to finalizing a deal with the Chinese company ByteDance, which owns TikTok. According to the plan, American investors were to gain control of the platform by creating a new version of TikTok that would meet U.S. national security requirements
Source: Bukvy
📉 ByteDance agreed to reduce its stake to below 20%, which would allow TikTok to remain in the U.S. and avoid a ban. The deal had already received investor support and administration approval, and Donald Trump was expected to sign an order launching a 120-day window to complete the transaction
🚫 However, Beijing derailed the agreement after Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods, raising the overall tariff rate to 54%. ByteDance representatives warned that China would not approve the sale of TikTok without lifting tariff pressure
🤝 On the social media platform Truth Social, Trump confirmed he expects mutual concessions: a possible easing of U.S. tariffs in exchange for Beijing’s permission to sell a stake in TikTok
🗣️ “We don’t want TikTok to fall into darkness. We hope to work with TikTok and China to make a deal,” wrote the U.S. president
⚖️ The fate of TikTok in the U.S. remains uncertain: the conflict between economic pressure and technological security is turning the platform into a key instrument in geopolitical negotiations
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