President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would consider offering tariff relief to China in exchange for Beijing’s approval of a TikTok sale, as negotiations intensify ahead of an April 5 deadline that could see the popular app banned in the United States.
“You have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?'” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “We could use tariffs in order to get something in return. They always have.”
Trump spoke a day after reviewing a proposal from a consortium of US investors including Oracle Corp, Blackstone Inc. and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which has emerged as a top contender according to people familiar with the discussions.
“We’re very close to a deal with a very good group of people,” Trump said, adding that his administration is “very close” to unveiling a plan that would spare TikTok from a US ban.
Under the proposal being reviewed, new outside investors would own 50% of TikTok’s US business in a unit spun off from Chinese parent ByteDance, while existing investors would own about 30%. ByteDance would retain just under 20% stake, allowing it to meet requirements of US law while maintaining substantially less control.
The deal structure would allow TikTok’s influential algorithm to remain with ByteDance but be licensed to the new US-based venture, with Oracle taking a small stake and providing security assurances, Bloomberg News reported.
Vice President JD Vance is spearheading the administration’s efforts to find a buyer before Saturday’s deadline, though Trump has signaled he may extend the deadline to complete negotiations.
Multiple bidding groups are competing for the acquisition. Jesse Tinsley, CEO of Employer.com, leads one consortium with a $30 billion all-cash offer that reportedly includes popular YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson (MrBeast), while Frank McCourt, former Los Angeles Dodgers owner, has assembled “The People’s Bid for TikTok” with prominent tech figures including Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Amazon and Microsoft have also reportedly expressed interest in the deal.
The proposals come after Trump imposed a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the United States, with China now facing 54% tariffs on goods imported into the US.
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