After Donald Trump granted a 75 days extension to TikTok, it has been reported by Reuters that the deal to sell TikTok’s assets in the US has been spined off. This measure is taken in response to China’s retaliation to the newly US imposed 54% tariffs on Chinese imports. The Chinese government showed concerns over the tariffs and indicated that it would not approve the deal. 

On Friday, President Donald Trump extended the deadline for TikTok’s ban by an additional 75 days in order to allow negotiations for a potential deal between U.S investors and ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent, to move ahead. The ban was initially to go into effect on April 5, and will now be deferred under a new executive order.

Reuters also reported that TikTok’s deal was finalized on Wednesday, according to which a new company based in the US would be taking charge of TikTok with ByteDance keeping only 20% of the shares. However, ByteDance said that there are still differences over the deal. The company wrote on its WeChat platform 

“(We are) still in talks with the U.S. government, but no agreement has been reached, and the two sides still have differences on many key issues…In accordance with Chinese law, any agreement is subject to the relevant review procedures” 

The Chinese embassy in the US also gave a statement on TikTok

“China has stated its position on TikTok on multiple occasions. China has always respected and protected the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises and opposed practices that violate the basic principles of the market economy.”

Trump also indicated that he is willing to reduce tariffs on China 

“maybe I’ll give them a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done,” 

Though there are many media speculations about the deal, there is no final verdict from ByteDance and the Chinese government. No investor or US company has also surfaced as the final buyer. Previously, it was reported that Amazon, Blackstone, and Oracle to be top bidders for the deal.