President Donald Trump of the United States has hinted he is willing to lower tariffs on Chinese imports if it will help broker a sale of the app by its Beijing parent, ByteDance. The development adds to the high-profile discussions about the app’s ownership, which has already been roiling amid national security questions in the United States.
Assignment of Deal Outline and Extension of Deadline
President Trump has indicated that he may be willing to extend a deadline of April 5 for a sale of the company to a nonchains firm. He also said he expected at least a framework of a deal to be in place by that date. These suggest some scope for negotiation, if only to reach a compromise that meets both commercial and security interests.
TRADE DYNAMICS AND TARIFFS AS A LEVERAGE
The president said we could apply tariffs to pay off a sale to TikTok. This tactic continues decades of efforts to employ tariffs in countermoves to staunch trade negotiations. The tariff cut would serve as a carrot to entice China to approve the sale, another critical element of the deal. This, in addition to the proposed new import fees on autos and auto parts, shows how fast-moving US trade policy is.
TikTok User Base and Political Participation in the United States
The app is still widely used in the United States, where about 170 million people use TikTok. President Trump himself maintains a TikTok account, where he has drawn a big following. This engagement also indicates app’s relevancy in today’s media landscape, and its potential to impact political discourse.
Broader Trade Tensions and Responses
The United States and China are now engaged in a tit for tat on tariffs. The US had recently imposed new tariffs on imports from China, and China had retaliated by pursuing tariffs on some American goods. China has also placed some U.S. aviation, defence and technology businesses on an “unreliable entity list” and ordered export controls. The ongoing discussions between American and Chinese officials are to find routes toward constructive engagement. And, the U.S. officials are meeting in Delhi to talk trade as the tariff deadline nears. The negotiations come before the presidents April 2nd deadline.
