Donald Trump, the president of the United States, declares that he would be willing to lower China’s tariffs in exchange for a deal with ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to sell the 170 million-use social media app.
China will have to play a role in TikTok, perhaps in the form of an approval, and I believe they will do that. Trump said to reporters on Wednesday, “Maybe I’ll give them a little tariff reduction or something to get it done.”
Trump made the suggestion as he made the announcement to impose a 25% tariff on imported cars and parts, his most recent victory in a growing trade war that has strained relations with allies and partners.
Trump imposed additional tariffs on all Chinese imports earlier this month, increasing the figure from 10 percent to 20 percent.
ByteDance was required to leave TikTok by January 19 in accordance with US law, or it could face a ban. Trump did, however, grant a 75-day grace period that will end on April 5.
If there isn’t agreement on the social media app, Trump has stated he will extend the deadline once more.
The ban-or-sale law was passed last April by former president Joe Biden. US lawmakers are concerned that TikTok could be used to influence the Chinese government’s political decisions.
TikTok is accused of publishing pro-Palestine content.
Republican leaders have long advocated for its ban, calling it a threat to national security even before the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. Former US Congressman Mike Gallagher, a current Palantir executive, introduced a bill in 2023 to outlaw TikTok.
At the Munich Security Conference last month, Gallagher claimed that there was “a bipartisan consensus.” The executive branch was in place until October 7th, but the bill was dead. Our bill had traction again as a result of the platform’s proliferation of anti-Semitic content.
TikTok was accused of propagating pro-Palestinian propaganda in the wake of Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza, which human rights groups have labeled a genocidal war. Additionally, the app was accused of using its platform to promote anti-Semitic or anti-Israeli speech. The accusations have not been proven by TikTok.
On X, formerly Twitter, Senator Marco Rubio wrote in November 2023, “TikTok is a tool China uses to spread propaganda to Americans. Now it’s being used to downplay Hamas terrorism.”
According to experts, TikTok’s pro-Palestine bias appeared to reflect the changing public opinion of the US-Israel conflict.
In contrast to the national average of 52%, 61 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 years said they viewed Palestinians either “very favorably” or “somewhat favorably” in a 2022 Pew Research survey.
A major issue in US-China economic relations has become getting China to give up control of TikTok, which is worth tens of billions of dollars.
In his first day in office, he warned that if Beijing refused to approve a US-US agreement with TikTok, he might impose tariffs on China.
Washington attempting to sabotage a sale
By April 5, Vice President JD Vance has stated that he anticipates the general terms of a deal to be reached.
Since a law passed last year with overwhelming bipartisan support, which required ByteDance to divest TikTok by January 19 has raised questions about the app’s future, which is used by nearly half of all Americans.
After the US Supreme Court upheld the ban in January, the app briefly went dark before returning to life days later as Trump became president.
Source: Aljazeera
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