Tech Desk 
Mar 27, 2025
An undated image. — iStock
With April 5, the deadline for the Chinese short-video platform TikTok to be sold, fast approaching, US President Donald Trump appears to be retracting one of his major decisions since he assumed office.
In a bid to help ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, secure a deal with a non-Chinese buyer of TikTok's US operations, Trump on Wednesday announced his agreement to consider cutting tariffs recently imposed on China.
The social media platform was restored shortly after it was banned on January 19, the deadline set by a law, passed in 2023 on national security grounds, requiring ByteDance to ensure the divestment of TikTok or get it banned.
The law was proposed by the former US administration on the basis of TikTok's Chinese ownership, involving concerns that the Chinese government could exploit Americans' data gathered by TikTok and might use it to propagandise against the country.
The US president conceded the crucial role China will play in securing a TikTok sale deal, stating that he might "give them a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done," as reported by Reuters.
Trump's remarks hint at the importance of the TikTok sale to his administration, given that he's agreed to let go of tariffs he staunchly held on to.
