As we previously wrote, during the executive order signing event in the Rose Garden on Wednesday, President Trump announced a swath of reciprocal tariffs on imports from every country, including the People’s Republic of China.
Then as my colleague Mike Miller wrote on Friday morning, China lashed out with a 34 percent tariff on all U.S. goods entering the Middle Kingdom.
Read related: China Retaliates, Announces 34 Percent Tariff on All U.S. Imports in Response to Trump’s ‘Liberation Day
Watch: Trump Declares ‘Liberation Day in America’ in Rose Garden Tariffs EO Event
Later on Friday morning, Trump shared on his Truth Social account that the administration is extending its reprieve of the U.S. ban on TikTok via a revised executive order, expressing hope of a “deal” being struck for the social media platform with connections to the Chinese government to be sold to an American company, while noting that China was “not very happy” about the reciprocal tariffs:
🚨 Statement from @POTUS on TikTok: pic.twitter.com/71SYdM1SfS
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 4, 2025
Read related: Trump Floats a Solution to US TikTok Ban Scheduled to Start Sunday
New: There’s an Explosive Report That the WH Might Be on the Verge of a Resolution to TikTok Ban
He wrote:
My Administration has been working very hard on a Deal to SAVE TIKTOK, and we have made tremendous progress. The Deal requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed, which is why I am signing an Executive Order to keep TikTok up and running for an additional 75 days. We hope to continue working in Good Faith with China, who I understand are not very happy about our Reciprocal Tariffs (Necessary for Fair and Balanced Trade between China and the U.S.A.!). This proves that Tariffs are the most powerful Economic tool, and very important to our National Security! We do not want TikTok to “go dark.” We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Here are more details on how things played out beginning on Thursday night, including a direct phone call with the White House, according to the AP:
The order was announced as White House officials believed they were nearing a deal for the app’s operations to be spun off into a new company based in the U.S. and owned and operated by a majority of American investors, with China’s ByteDance maintaining a minority position, according to a person familiar with the matter.
But Beijing hit the brakes on a deal Thursday after Trump announced wide-ranging tariffs around the globe, including against China. ByteDance representatives called the White House to indicate that China would no longer approve the deal until there could be negotiations about trade and tariffs, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive details of the negotiations.
ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, also released a statement on Friday, confirming that discussions about a “potential solution” are ongoing:
A spokesperson for ByteDance confirmed in a statement that the company has been discussing a “potential solution” with the U.S. government but noted that an “agreement has not been executed.”
“There are key matters to be resolved,” the spokesperson said. “Any agreement will be subject to approval under Chinese law.”
This is a developing story. RedState will provide updates as warranted.
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