Why did Trump postpone Tiktok's sale?

The global tariff war decreed by the US government last week was confirmed as the reason for postponing Donald Trump’s plan to announce the new Tiktok operations owner in the US on Saturday after a meeting last Wednesday has allegedly sealed the trade agreement.

On Friday afternoon (5), Trump announced in his social truth account that the deadline would be extended in another 75 days (the first postponement was shortly after the inauguration), explaining that the deal requires more time to “guarantee all necessary approvals.”

Without referring to a formal veto, the US President wrote: “We hope to continue working in good faith with China, which, I know, is not very happy with our fares.” On Sunday, he confirmed to journalists who accompanied him aboard the Air Force One plane that the Asian country conditioned the approval of the agreement to a reduction in import tariffs.

Trump postponed Tiktok’s sale at the last minute

Tiktok’s selling plan, driven directly by Trump’s White House and personal involvement, seeks to transfer property from the application, currently controlled by Bytedance, to US investors, on the risk argument of Chinese government access to US users data.

A determined law, the application or sale of the application was passed by Congress and sanctioned by then -President Joe Biden in 2024, and then ratified in a court decision after a lawsuit filed by Bytedance.

In the final stretch before the deadline for sale, which should have been January 19 but was postponed by Trump in 75 days, Oracle emerged as a favorite in the race, due to its strategic partnership with Tiktok in American user data management.

Impact of commercial tariffs

Trump’s decision occurs amid a climate of commercial tension with China, which retaliated the tariffs imposed by the United States with additional American products rates. Beijing conditioned its approval to the withdrawal or renegotiation of these tariffs, further complicating negotiations.

Meanwhile, according to information published by the American media, Bytedance would be trying to maintain a minority participation in Tiktok, something that faces resistance from local authorities.

Uncertainty about the future of the platform continues, with the tariff war by adding an extra layer of tension to discussions

Trump government and the sale of Tiktok

In his first term, Donald Trump even proposed the Tiktok ban due to the alleged risk of access to American user information by the Chinese government, which bytedance, the company that has always denied it.

But Trump embarked on the wave of short videos during his campaign, and attributed to her part of the responsibility for his victory in the November 2024 elections. Thus, he began to defend his permanence in the country, but not under the control of a Chinese company for national security reasons.

Donald Trump in his first Tiktok video — Donald Trump’s first video on Tiktok was recorded at UFC (Photo: Tiktok Reproduction)

According to analysts cited in recent sales reports, Oracle is one of the leading favorites in the dispute for the acquisition of American Tiktok operations, thanks to his established relationship with the platform through Project Texas, in which he already acts as a guardian of US user data.

The company would have committed to continuing to ensure that data remain stored in the United States, meeting national security concerns.

In addition, the connection of Oracle’s co-founder Larry Ellison, with Donald Trump strengthens his position, given the political support shown to the former president, which can positively influence the decision process.

According to Financial Times, the US risk capital company Andreessen Horowitz would be part of the consortium.

Amazon entered the dispute for Tiktok

Among the potential buyers cited by the American press are also Jeff Bezos’s Amazon, which would have made a last -minute offer to purchase Tiktok.

Bezos, who previously had a tense relationship with Trump, became one of his most visible supporters, participating in presidential possession and promoting editorial changes in the Washington Post, newspaper of his property, seen as alignment to the new president.

Another candidate is the investment company Blackstone, which would seek to expand its performance in the technology sector through the acquisition of the social network.

In addition, Startup Zoop, led by Tim Stokely, founder of Onlyfans, presented a proposal in collaboration with the HBAR Foundation, highlighting an approach to the transparency and security of user data.

Finally, AI perplexity, an artificial intelligence startup, proposed to reformulate Tiktok’s algorithm to make it more transparent and centered on the American public, bringing a technological perspective to the dispute.

Another that revealed formal interest on the social network was Youtuber Mrbeast, but it has not been quoted among the potential winners of the dispute in the final stretch.