After signing an executive order to halt the TikTok ban on Monday, President Donald Trump appeared to signal that his decision to impose tariffs against China could be linked to Beijing’s response to a U.S. entity acquiring at least 50% of the social media platform.
US President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in ... [+]
On Monday evening, Trump signed an executive order to halt the TikTok ban for 75 days “to permit my Administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course of action” on the platform's fate.
Trump said he expects China to approve any deal the U.S. would want to make with TikTok, “because we’d put tariffs on China…I’m not saying we would, but we certainly could do that.”
The president said the U.S. “should be entitled to get half of TikTok” if it continued to operate after the 75-day extension and said the platform is “worthless if I don’t approve it.”
Trump warned if China blocked the deal, “then that’s a certain hostility and we’ll put tariffs of 25, 30, 50%, even 100%.”
The president claimed TikTok could be worth as much as a trillion dollars if “we would have a joint venture with the people from TikTok.”
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
It is unclear if the president wants the U.S. government to own half of TikTok, or if he means 50% of the social media platform should be owned by a U.S. company. Trump also did not specify if he expects TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance to give up 50% of TikTok’s ownership to the U.S. in exchange for being allowed to operate in the country, or if he wants it to agree to a sale.
In November, Trump said tariffs against all imports from China, Mexico and Canada would be among the first executive orders he would sign after entering office. The president did not sign any tariffs-related executive orders on Monday, but warned that a 25% levy on all imports from Canada and Mexico will likely go into effect on February 1. Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office, Trump continued to accuse the two U.S. neighbors of enabling the flow of drugs and undocumented immigrants into the country. The president, however, did not commit to imposing tariffs on China, aside from the TikTok threat, and said: “We’re going to have meetings and calls with President Xi.” Trump also confirmed he has been invited to visit China this year and said he is open to it.