Open the White House Watch newsletter for free

Your guide to what the 2024 US elections mean for Washington and the world

President Donald Trump said tariffs on China could hinge on an agreement on ownership of TikTok, as he signed an executive order to keep the popular short-form online video platform in the US for 75 days.

Within hours of it Opening on MondayTrump postponed the deadline requiring TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its stake in the app or face a ban in the country.

Trump said the United States “should have the right to get half.” Tik TokIf the app continues to work after this moratorium, he said he could “absolutely” impose tariffs on China if it rejects the deal, which he said would be a “hostile act.”

He added that customs duties could reach 100 percent. “finally [Beijing] “We will agree to it because we will impose tariffs on China.” Trump He said when signing the order. “I’m not saying I’ll do it, but you sure can do it.”

China was one of three countries that Trump threatened to impose tariffs on on his first day in office. He said on Monday A fee of 25 percent may be charged In Canada and Mexico as of February 1.

But he did not impose sweeping 60 percent tariffs on Chinese imports as he promised during his election campaign, which would have marked a new phase in the trade war with Beijing during his first term.

The move to postpone tariffs against China appears to provide a bargaining chip for the TikTok deal. Trump Talk to Chinese leader Xi Jinping On Friday he said he had raised the TikTok issue, though Beijing has not confirmed the discussion.

TikTok became temporarily unavailable to about 170 million US users at midnight on Sunday after the initial deadline under the “pull or ban” law, but… Service hours will resume at a later date.

The executive order said companies that distribute and host TikTok — which includes Apple and Google as well as cloud provider Oracle — will not be held liable for violating the law during the 75-day extension. Under the law, service providers risk fines of $5,000 per user.

But Tom Cotton, the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, warned companies on Sunday that they risked “devastating bankruptcy” by violating the law.

TikTok CEO Xu Ziqiu launched a charm attack after Trump suggested during the campaign that he hoped to “save” the app.

Qiu attended the opening ceremony Along with tech billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg sat next to Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence, drawing criticism from some observers.

Many US politicians and security officials believe the Chinese government could use TikTok to access Americans’ personal information, potentially facilitate espionage, and use the app’s algorithm to spread propaganda. TikTok denies that Beijing has any control over the app.

TikTok also said that divestment was not technologically possible within the time frame of the law. Beijing has indicated it opposes the sale.

However, Trump suggested that if the app continued to operate, the US should get “half the value of TikTok,” adding: “If I don’t do the deal, it’s worthless. If I do the deal, it’s probably worth a trillion dollars.”

last week, The Financial Times reported Chinese officials were discussing using Musk, who is close to Trump, as an intermediary in a potential sale of TikTok’s US operations. On Monday, Musk met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, who attended Trump’s inauguration.

Him too He called TikTok’s presence in the US – while Western platforms such as its own social media site

Beijing did not immediately respond to Trump’s comments threatening to impose tariffs if it did not approve the TikTok deal.

China’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that any decision regarding TikTok ownership should be made “in accordance with market principles and determined by the companies themselves.”

Additional reporting by Amy Williams in Washington