Trump says US has a buyer for TikTok

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. and China have a deal that will 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. Trump did not announce specifics of 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.

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.