Trump extends Tik Tok's sale deadline for a third time

20/6/2025 5:51

U.S. President



Donald Trump



on Thursday extended to September 17 a deadline for

China-based ByteDance to divest the U.S. assets of short-video

app TikTok despite a law that mandated a sale or shutdown

without significant progress.



Trump signed an executive order pushing back Thursday's

deadline for 90 more days, a step that he had previously

signaled.



The Republican president had already twice granted a

reprieve from federal enforcement of a law that mandated the

sale or shutdown of TikTok that was supposed to take effect in

January, absent significant progress toward a sale.



Trump has said he wants to keep the app, which helped him

woo young voters in the 2024 presidential election, active in

the U.S.



He has also expressed optimism that Chinese President Xi

Jinping would approve a deal that preserves the app, though it's

not clear how significantly the topic has featured in the two

countries' ongoing trade talks to resolve a tariff dispute.



"We are grateful for President Trump's leadership and

support in ensuring that TikTok continues to be available,"

TikTok said in a statement posted on its website.



The company said it is continuing to work with U.S. Vice

President JD Vance's office on the matter.



"President Trump will sign an additional executive order

this week to keep TikTok up and running," White House press

secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday.



"President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark," she

added, saying the administration will spend the next three

months making sure the sale closes so that Americans can keep

using TikTok with the assurance that their data is safe and

secure.



Trump had said on Tuesday that he would "probably,

yeah," extend the deadline. "Probably have to get China approval

but I think we'll get it," he told reporters aboard Air Force

One. "I think President Xi will ultimately approve it."



A 2024 law required TikTok to stop operating by January

19 unless TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance had completed



divesting the app's U.S. assets



or demonstrated significant progress toward a sale.



Trump began his second term as president on January 20

and opted not to enforce the law. He first extended the deadline

to early April, and then again last month to June 19.



In March, Trump said he would be willing to reduce

tariffs on China to get a deal done with ByteDance to sell the

short-video app used by 170 million Americans.



A deal had been



in the works



this spring that would spin off TikTok's U.S. operations

into a new U.S.-based firm, majority-owned and operated by U.S.

investors, but it was put on hold after China indicated it would

not approve it following Trump's announcements of steep tariffs

on Chinese goods.



Some Democratic lawmakers argue that Trump has no legal

authority to extend the deadline and suggest that the deal under

consideration would not meet legal requirements.