Description: The major shareholder of the Chinese social media platform TikTok, ByteDance, has halted the sale of TikTok’s operations in the US to an American – based company in light of Trump’s tariff imposition. In light of recent interest from large companies such as Amazon and a business consortium led by OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely, TikTok’s fate on the American market remains severely uncertain. US President Donald Trump has extended the deadline for the sale for additional 75 days via presidential executive order which was severely opposed by the Democrats. TikTok’s sale of operations on the US market was initiated over privacy and influence concerns, as the US Senate has unequivocally passed a bill demanding the app’s operations on the US market to pertain to an American – based company.
Impact: TikTok’s sale has become a bargaining chip in the ongoing trade war between the US and China. China has halted the sale of the app’s operations on the US market amid the imposed 34% of tariffs from US President Donald Trump and would most likely use the situation to force the US to the negotiating table. The extension of the sale deadline by Trump signals the US still holds a hard line on China, and actively denounces the use of TikTok as a negotiating tool between the countries. Trump is facing mounting oppositional pressure to finalize the deal as the app is used by more than 170 million people in the US. China would ultimately aim at leveraging the sale agreement as a starting point to restitute negotiations regarding the US tariffs on Chinese goods.