A potential deal to sell TikTok was scuttled due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China.
Trump on Friday, extended the deadline for the sale by 75 days, in a bid to find a non-Chinese buyer.
NBC News reports that a deal had been agreed as of Wednesday, but the recently imposed tariffs on China presented a late breaking hurdle.
The White House was informed by ByteDance representatives after the tariffs were implemented, that China would not accept a deal, until there could be negotiations around trade and tariffs.
Trump was prepared to sign an executive order approving the deal, which would have spun off TikTok’s US operations into a new, American-based company owned and operated by a majority of American investors, with ByteDance maintaining a minority stake.
The executive order would have called for a 120-day closing period to finalize paperwork and financing.
ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, must find a non-Chinese buyer for the app or else it will be banned under a law passed in 2024.
