WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is anticipated to once again postpone the September 17 deadline for China’s ByteDance to divest its U.S. TikTok assets or face shutdown.
This would mark the fourth extension granted by President Donald Trump, who originally signed a law giving ByteDance until January 2025 to sell or shutter the popular short-video platform.
Last month, Trump claimed to have potential U.S. buyers for TikTok and suggested the possibility of further extensions. However, on Sunday, he was non-committal when questioned about the app’s future, stating, “I may or may not. We are in negotiations. It could be allowed to end, or it might not. It depends on China.” He added, “It’s not too important. My main concern is the kids.”
The White House has yet to comment publicly on the expected extension, but if granted, it would indicate a hesitance to shut down an app with 170 million American users.While some U.S. officials and lawmakers have expressed concerns about TikTok potentially being used by Beijing for espionage, manipulation, or censorship, Trump has publicly expressed a desire to keep the app operational.
Negotiations for a deal have been sluggish. Any agreement involving sharing TikTok’s algorithm with a U.S. buyer would require approval from Beijing. A proposed deal in the spring aimed to spin off TikTok’s U.S. operations into a new, U.S.-based company owned primarily by American investors. However, progress stalled after China signaled it would not approve the plan, especially following Trump’s imposition of heavy tariffs on Chinese imports.
Meanwhile, trade talks involving U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer with Chinese officials, including Vice Premier He Lifeng and trade negotiator Li Chenggang, are ongoing in Spain. These discussions are expected to touch on TikTok, but no agreement is anticipated before the September 17 deadline.
Previous rounds of U.S.-China trade negotiations in Geneva, London, and Stockholm did not include TikTok on their agendas. The recent inclusion of TikTok in the talks’ public agenda appears to give the Trump administration political cover to seek yet another extension—something that may irritate both Republican and Democratic lawmakers who have called for TikTok’s sale.
Since beginning his second term on January 20, Trump has chosen not to enforce the law requiring TikTok’s U.S. assets to be sold or shut down. The deadline has been extended three times initially to early April, then through May and June, and most recently to September.
