U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated he may reduce tariffs on China if its government approves the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations.
ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, faces an April 5 deadline to divest its U.S. assets or risk a nationwide ban on national security grounds. The deadline stems from concerns in Washington that TikTok’s Chinese ownership could allow Beijing to conduct influence operations and collect data on American users.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Trump acknowledged China’s role in approving a potential deal and suggested he might offer tariff reductions as an incentive.
“Maybe I’ll give them a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done,” Trump said. “TikTok is big, but every point in tariffs is worth more than TikTok.”
Trump also stated he was open to extending the April deadline if a deal was not reached in time.
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance recently expressed optimism that an agreement would be finalised by early April, though he did not specify potential buyers. However, some challenges could push the deal past the deadline, according to NBC News.
China’s commerce ministry reaffirmed its consistent stance on tariffs and stated that Beijing remains open to discussions with Washington based on mutual respect and benefit.
