By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China’s ByteDance faces a Saturday deadline to sell the U.S. assets of TikTok to a non-Chinese buyer, which was imposed by President Donald Trump in January, or face a ban that was supposed to take effect in January under a 2024 law.Trump said Thursday his administration is “very close” to reaching a deal on TikTok, with multiple investors involved.
A White House official said Friday “if there is any news to be shared about the future of TikTok, President Trump will announce it at a time of his choosing.”
Trump made the comments a day after he announced a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the United States and higher duties on some of the country’s biggest trading partners. China now faces a 54% tariff on goods imported into the U.S.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters reported last week private equity firm Blackstone is evaluating making a small minority investment in TikTok’s U.S. operations, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The talks on the future of TikTok are coalescing around a plan for the biggest non-Chinese investors in ByteDance to raise their stakes and acquire the short-video app’s U.S. operations, Reuters reported last month.
Trump has said that his administration was in touch with four different groups about a prospective TikTok deal, without identifying them.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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