TikTok deal reached during U.S.-China trade negotiations, Trump says

Trade negotiators from China and the United States reached a deal on the ownership of the TikTok app, President Donald Trump said on Monday. Trump would meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday to conclude several days of trade talks in Madrid, he said.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier on Monday said China presented very aggressive requests while negotiating the deal. The United States wasn’t willing to sacrifice its national security for the short-form video app, he said.

Congress last year passed a law banning the app’s use in the United States unless it became American-owned by January 2025. Legislators were concerned about TikTok’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party and its storage of American users’ data. President Donald Trump used executive orders to extend the deadline three times, but his latest extension will expire on Wednesday.

What are the potential terms of the deal? While details haven’t been released, a U.S. official anonymously told Reuters that the United States would proceed with a TikTok ban unless China allowed the app to come under American ownership. U.S. negotiators also said China must drop its demands for lower tariffs and fewer technological trade restrictions, according to Reuters.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s story on the White House’s return to TikTok and ensuing security concerns.