By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. and China have a deal that would keep the short-video app TikTok operating in the United States, transferring its U.S. assets to U.S. owners from China’s ByteDance, potentially resolving a saga that has lingered for nearly a year.
A deal on the popular social media app, which counts 170 million U.S. users, stands as a breakthrough in months-long talks between the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 economies that have sought to defuse a wide-ranging trade war that has unnerved global markets.
“We have a deal on TikTok … We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it,” Trump said on Tuesday, without giving details on the deal.
Any agreement could require approval by the Republican-controlled Congress, which passed a law in 2024 during the Biden Administration that required divestiture due to fears that TikTok’s U.S. user data could be accessed by the Chinese government, allowing Beijing to spy on Americans or conduct influence operations through the app.
The Trump administration has repeatedly declined to enforce a law requiring the app to shut down due to worries it would anger the app’s millions of users and disrupt political communications, instead extending the divestiture deadline on three separate occasions.
Trump has credited the app with helping him win re-election last year, and his personal account has 15 million followers. The White House launched an official TikTok account last month.
CNBC reported Tuesday that the deal is expected to be closed within the next 30 to 45 days, and that the agreement will include existing investors in TikTok’s China-based parent ByteDance and new investors. Reuters has not independently verified that report.
Details of the deal from the CNBC report line up with Reuters reporting from April.
A deal had been in the works in the spring. It would have spun off TikTok’s U.S. operations into a new U.S.-based firm, majority-owned and operated by U.S. investors, but was put on hold after China indicated it would not approve it following Trump’s announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese goods.
Washington has maintained that TikTok’s ownership by ByteDance makes it beholden to the Chinese government and Beijing could use the app to collect data on Americans.
The company has said U.S. officials have misstated its ties to China, arguing its content recommendation engine and user data are stored in the U.S. on cloud servers operated by Oracle while content moderation decisions that affect American users are also made in the U.S.
A framework agreement was reached by officials from both countries on Monday, marking a breakthrough after months of intense talks. The White House has been involved to an unprecedented level in the closely watched deal talks.
Amid escalating trade tensions, U.S. and China delegations discussed the divestment as part of broader disputes over tariffs and tech export control regulations.
A final confirmation on the deal is expected on Friday in a call between Trump and President Xi Jinping.
Several suitors including former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, a startup run by OnlyFans founder and Amazon had expressed interest in the fast-growing business that analysts estimate could be worth as much as $50 billion.
(Reporting By Andrea Shalal and Jarrett Renshaw)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.