Trump says TikTok deal is still 'on the table'

Source: Reuters

April 10, 2025 3:20 AM EDT Updated 7 hours ago


WASHINGTON, April 9 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday said a potential deal to spin off the U.S. assets of TikTok is still "on the table" days after it was put on hold. Several U.S. Senators have criticized the proposed deal, but Trump defended it.

"We have a deal with some very good people, some very rich companies that would do a great job with it, but we're going to have to wait and see what's going to happen with China," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "It's on the table, very much." Trump on Friday extended the deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest the U.S. assets of the short video app used by 170 million Americans, or face a ban. The deal must be reached by June 19, the date when the ban would take effect.

Trump has twice granted a reprieve from enforcement of the ban, which was originally set to take effect in January. The deal would spin off TikTok's U.S. operations into a new company based in the U.S. and majority-owned and operated by U.S. investors. The plan entails spinning off a U.S. entity for TikTok and diluting Chinese ownership, sources have told Reuters.

Democratic Senators Mark Warner and Ed Markey said Trump had no legal authority to extend the deadline. Warner also said the reported likely deal under consideration would not meet legal requirements. On Wednesday, Markey sought to pass legislation to extend the deadline until October but was blocked.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/technology/trump-says-tiktok-deal-is-still-on-table-2025-04-09/