US President Donald Trump has stated that he would extend the 19 June deadline for TikTok, should the social media platform’s parent company, ByteDance, still fail to find a buyer for its US business. During an interview with NBC, he said that he would like to “see it done.”
TikTok’s fate in the US has been delayed twice to date; the first time was in January when Trump retook office, while the second delay occurred in April. That being said, the 145% tariff that went into effect today is an obstacle towards negotiations between the US and China – the Asian powerhouse reportedly told TikTok to hold off on any deals, at least till the US backs down.
Trump’s charity, if you could even call it that, towards ByteDance-owned app stems from his “sweet spot” for it, after it helped him win over young voters during his campaigning. “TikTok is – it’s very interesting, but it will be protected,” Trump said.
There’s also the question of legality towards Trump’s power. Senators from the Democratic party have argued that he has no legal authority to extend the deadline, and that any deal made in the future may lack a laundry list of legal requirements.
(Source: Reuters)
