Donald Trump says China dragging TikTok sale deal due to tariffs, ‘If I gave a little cut, they’d approve in 15 mins…’

United States President Donald Trump on April 6 told reporters that China is holding back on approval for the sale deal for TikTok as a response to his tariffs, AFP reported.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Donald Trump said that China “changed the deal because of tariffs”, and insisted that they would agree “in 15 minutes” if he eased the 34 per cent duties on all Chinese imports “a little”.

Donald Trump Says TikTok Deal Close, China Dragging It…

“The report is that we had a deal, pretty much for TikTok, not a deal, but pretty close, and then China changed the deal because of tariffs. If I gave a little cut in tariffs, they'd approve that deal in 15 minutes, which shows you the power of tariffs,” Donald Trump told reporters.

On April 4, he extended the deadline by 75 days for TikTok to find a non-Chinese buyer or face a ban in the United States. This came after he announced the imposition of additional 34 per cent tariffs on all Chinese imports into the US.

TikTok US Sale Deal: Latest Updates

TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is a popular video-sharing platform with more than 170 million users in the US, including thousands of small businesses.

In 2024, the US passed an order seeking that TikTok US be split from its Chinese parent ByteDance and sell the unit to a US-based buyer or face complete shutdown in the country.

President Donald Trump has insisted that a solution is “near” and that a buyer would be found, dispelling talk of having to shut down TikTok in the US, but has given few details, the report noted.

In a reply to AFP, ByteDance confirmed that it is “in talks” with the US government to find a solution for the TikTok US' sale, but warned that there remained “key matters” to solve first.

“An agreement has not been executed,” and whatever was decided would be “subject to approval under Chinese law,” the company added.

(With inputs from AFP)