On Thursday, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Lutnick, stated that if Beijing does not approve the acquisition of the Chinese social media company TikTok’s U.S. business, the app will have to shut down in the United States.
Lutnick is set to participate in the third round of U.S.-China trade negotiations in Sweden next week. In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, he revealed the latest developments of the U.S. group’s acquisition of TikTok transaction.
Lutnick emphasized that TikTok’s U.S. version must be free from Beijing’s control, with ownership transferred to the U.S. side. He expressed that it is not acceptable to have something controlled by the Chinese on the smartphones of 100 million U.S. users.
Furthermore, Lutnick mentioned that TikTok’s operations within the U.S. must be under American control, allowing a small portion to be held by the Chinese side or ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to retain a small stake.
“In essence, ownership will belong to the U.S. The U.S. will possess the technology and control the algorithm. This is something President Trump is willing to do,” said Secretary Lutnick.
Lutnick also issued a warning, stating that if the Chinese side does not approve the transaction, TikTok will be forced to close down in the U.S. He emphasized that if the deal is approved by China, it will proceed; otherwise, TikTok will be banned in the U.S.
The Secretary of Commerce expressed confidence that these decisions would soon yield results, urging everyone to await China’s decision.
“They have to approve it. This deal is already done for them,” Lutnick said.
When asked if this is part of the overall U.S.-China trade negotiations, he responded that it is both and not. He clarified that while it is not formally part of the trade talks, the topic will inevitably be discussed.
In 2024, the U.S. Congress passed the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Control of Apps Act,” requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok by January 19, 2025, to avoid facing a ban in the U.S. President Biden later signed the bill into law.
Following this, TikTok brought the lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court. On January 17, 2025, the Court ruled against TikTok, and the U.S. government’s law would take effect on January 19.
On January 20, after taking office as President of the United States, Trump signed an executive order delaying the enforcement of the “sell or ban” law against TikTok for 75 days to find a buyer. He subsequently extended the deadline twice, pushing the ban on TikTok to September 17.
Simultaneously, the President warned the CCP that failing to approve the TikTok deal would lead to increased tariffs on China by the United States.