Trumps Team Weighs TikTok Deal Ahead of April 5 Deadline

Key Points

• • President Trump's advisers are set to present options for a potential TikTok deal amid an impending ban deadline of April 5.
• • U.S. lawmakers mandated TikTok to be sold to a U.S. entity or face a ban, prompting interest from various investors.
• • Any deal requires approval from both Trump and China's President Xi Jinping, who has been resistant to relinquishing TikTok's technology.
• • Oracle and Blackstone are reportedly involved in negotiations, with Oracle previously proposing a plan to safeguard U.S. data.
• • Vice President JD Vance is spearheading efforts to secure a buyer or investor for TikTok, with multiple firms showing interest.
• • Amazon made a late bid for TikTok, but Vance's team prefers a more complex investment arrangement involving several companies.
• • Microsoft is also interested, reportedly proposing a $40 billion offer, but the progress of these discussions remains unclear.
• • A bipartisan law requires TikTok to divest from ByteDance, limiting its ownership to no more than 20% to comply with U.S. national security concerns.
• • TikTok briefly went offline in January 2021 but resumed after Trump indicated a willingness to negotiate a solution.
• • Recent U.S.-China trade tensions, especially tariffs, have complicated negotiations and led to delays in reaching an agreement.
• • Trump has suggested that TikTok's future and U.S. tariffs may be interconnected, hinting at possible negotiations on tariffs alongside the TikTok deal.
• • TikTok's popularity in the U.S. has grown, with approximately 170 million users, making its fate a significant political issue.