Topline
President Donald Trump extended the deadline for a TikTok sale to Dec. 16 on Tuesday, delaying a potential shutdown of the app, hours after he told reporters he had reached a “deal” with Chinese officials on the app’s future.
Trump signed an executive order Tuesday to give more time to finalize the sale, days before he is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss the plan.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC earlier Tuesday the ByteDance deal was completed “in essence” in March or April, but that the Chinese delayed the deal after Trump’s tariff announcement.
Trump told reporters Sunday “we may let [TikTok] die,” adding that it’s “up to China.”
The deal is expected to close within the next 30 to 45 days, according to CNBC.
This is the fourth time Trump has extended the deadline since a law took effect in January requiring TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app to a non-Chinese owner over security concerns related to its connection to the Chinese government. Chinese officials must sign off on the sale. Trump has taken a more lenient approach to TikTok than he did during his first term, crediting it with helping him win the youth vote in the 2024 presidential election.
Trump Suggests TikTok ‘Deal’ Reached With China —What To Know (Forbes)
Trump Says TikTok National Security Concerns Are ‘Highly Overrated,’ Suggests Delaying Ban Again (Forbes)
Battle For TikTok: Amazon, AppLovin Join Oracle And These Others Vying To Buy It (Forbes)