Sources: a TikTok US deal, which was largely finalized by April 2, was put on hold after China indicated it would reject the deal over President Trump's tariffs

A deal to spin off the U.S. assets of TikTok was put on hold after China indicated that it would not approve …

Reuters 2025-04-05

Context & Ripple Effects

TikTok’s U.S. ownership question has repeatedly resisted resolution: a prior forced-sale plan was shelved indefinitely, while a later preliminary national-security framework offered an alternative to divestiture.

China’s earlier AI export restrictions had already made the inclusion of TikTok’s recommendation technology a central obstacle in sale talks. The reported pause shows that the transaction remains tied to the wider U.S.-China policy relationship, not solely to U.S. security negotiations.

First-order effects

The nearly finalized U.S. spin-off is delayed, leaving TikTok, ByteDance and prospective deal participants without a completed ownership structure.
China’s indicated rejection turns its approval into an immediate gating issue, particularly where a transaction would involve TikTok’s algorithm or other controlled technology.

Second-order effects

U.S. negotiators and deal parties face pressure to revisit terms or sequence a TikTok agreement separately from tariff disputes; the earlier algorithm-export constraint narrows the room for a simple asset transfer.
The delay prolongs uncertainty for TikTok’s U.S. business and for any partners whose roles depend on a completed separation, rather than a negotiated security arrangement.

Third-order effects

If technology ownership and trade policy continue to be negotiated together, cross-border platform remedies will become less predictable and more vulnerable to shifts in bilateral relations.
The case reinforces a structural split in which control of recommendation systems is treated as a strategic technology question, potentially making localized ownership less sufficient to settle platform disputes.

The trend: TikTok is becoming a test case for how national-security demands, algorithm controls and trade leverage increasingly converge in cross-border technology deals.

Discussion

@gbrockell Gillian Brockell on bluesky
Gonna need every single one of y'all with a TikTok account to go spread the word over there [embedded post]
@caseynewton Casey Newton on bluesky
Today in the art of the deal [embedded post]
@eshumarneedi.com @eshumarneedi.com on bluesky
masterful gambit [embedded post]
@paleofuture Matt Novak on bluesky
“The deal, the structure of which was largely finalized by Wednesday...” [embedded post]
r/politics r on reddit
TikTok deal put on hold after China indicated it would reject deal over tariffs, say sources
@dylanreeve.com Dylan Reeve on bluesky
Fascinating that the US seems to have just abandoned their system of laws. — It was already dubious as hell that Trump had just decreed that TikTok could carry on, but this deadline is explicitly in legislation with no mechanism for the President to extend it. — He's just uni…
@lazear @lazear on bluesky
So facebook is definetly gonna sue to force the law to proceed, aren't they? [embedded post]
@xhangover Eli Sananes on bluesky
Ever get the sense that Trump just doesn't know what the fuck he's doing??
@ecowen @ecowen on bluesky
Trump has to be certain the right fascist billionaire buys it. Can't have any old billionaire buying TikTok & risk losing control of messaging. His whole plan depends on controlling the information ecosystem to create an alternative reality for Americans. Thankfully legacy med…
@caseynewton Casey Newton on bluesky
Periodic reminder that the law makes no provision for the president to just extend the deadline as many times as he wants [embedded post]
@truthtrumpposts @truthtrumpposts on x
My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress. The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 …
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
Interesting to see so many people complaining today that Trump's TikTok ban extension is illegal. The first one was also illegal, as we pointed out, but mostly crickets. Guess that's what a stock market crash will do for ya.
@presssec Karoline Leavitt on x
STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP ON TIKTOK: [image]
@pkafka Peter Kafka on x
It's *still* weird that we're in a world where pointing out that the President ignored a law sounds makes you sound like Poindexter. Another way of putting it: When Trump ignored the TikTok law, and Congress didn't say boo, it set the stage for... (points to everything)
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
If there isn't an agreement between ByteDance and the buyer, even a prelim one, this is another illegal extension
@alexweprin Alex Weprin on x
This may be first confirmation from ByteDance that they are willing to sell?
@hadas_gold Hadas Gold on x
NEW from TikTok owner ByteDance: “ByteDance has been in discussion with the U.S. Government regarding a potential solution for TikTok U.S. An agreement has not been executed. There are key matters to be resolved. Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law.”
@hadas_gold Hadas Gold on x
ByteDance has barely commented on a potential TikTok deal, if at all. So this is notable
@rakeshsfnyc Rakesh Agrawal on x
Based on no legal authority.
@pkafka Peter Kafka on x
If you don't like a law (say it with me now: passed by Congress, signed by the President, upheld by the Supreme Court) you just pretend it doesn't exist.
@danprimack Dan Primack on x
tldr: Trump couldn't make a TikTok deal in time. So he's going to extend the ban again, which he doesn't have the legal right to do. Gotta wonder what, if anything, @SenTomCotton, will do.
@brianstelter Brian Stelter on x
Trump says “we have made tremendous progress” re: TikTok but “the Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days.”
@teroterotero Tero Kuittinen on x
Remarkable. He caved in again.
@josh_wingrove Josh Wingrove on x
Trump says he'll extend the deadline on TikTok divestiture / shuttering by 75 days. [image]
@hadas_gold Hadas Gold on x
Just yesterday VP Vance said a deal will “come out before the deadline, .... I think that we're in a good place. We're going to keep on working at it.""
@selinawangtv Selina Wang on x
Trump is expected to sign an executive order to extend the deadline (tomorrow) for TikTok to be banned or sold off. Sources say there are several investors interested in jumping in to purchase TikTok, including Amazon, Oracle, and Applovin. A source close to the deal also says
@selinawangtv Selina Wang on x
BREAKING: Walmart is actively considering joining a group of investors to buy TikTok, sources close to the deal tell me, who say Walmart's interest was triggered by Amazon throwing their hat into the ring. Walmart was interested in buying TikTok back in 2020. @ABC
r/unusual_whales r on reddit
Trump May Have Killed Your Portfolio Gains, But For Now He Has SAVED TikTok
r/Sino r on reddit
Trump claimed China panicked over his tariffs on social media. In reality? He just signed an extension for TikTok, after using it as an example for a deal a day after his liberation day. …
r/StockMarket r on reddit
Trump extends TikTok deadline for the second time
r/politics r on reddit
Trump extends TikTok deadline for the second time
r/technology r on reddit
Trump extends TikTok deadline for the second time

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