Trump Might Reduce Tariffs on China’s to Promote TikTok Deal
Last updated: April 10, 2025
US President Donald Trump declared on March 26 that he’d be willing to reduce the growing tariffs on Chinese imports if the country agrees to facilitate the sale of TikTok. The popular video app currently faces a nationwide ban in the US if it remains completely under Chinese ownership.
“China is going to have to play a role in [TikTok’s deal], possibly in the form of an approval, maybe, and I think they’ll do that. Maybe I’ll give them a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done,” Trump told reporters.
The ban stems from the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA), which passed last March under the Biden administration. The legislation explicitly mentions TikTok as a potential foreign threat and requires the app to divest at least 80% of its operations to US ownership to remain operational in the country.
Trump, who returned to office in January, has since said he would accept a 50% divestiture instead. He previously opposed PAFACA after initially trying to ban TikTok during his first term, calling the new law excessive.
After taking office – just one day after TikTok’s US ban came into effect – he signed an executive order to pause the ban for at least 75 days.
He also said he’s willing to further extend the deal’s deadline, if needed. “If [a deal] is not finished, it’s not a big deal. We’ll just extend it – I have the right to have the deal and to extend it, if I want – so we’ll see whether we have a deal,” Trump said.
These statements come against the backdrop of growing tariffs levied against US trading partners. In April, Trump increased tariffs on all Chinese imports, which come on top of existing tariffs for specific imports.
“If war is what the US wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end,” the Chinese Embassy in the US posted on X.
ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, has previously declared that it has no intention of selling the popular app.
