Trump to ‘deal with’ TikTook forward of April deadline, Commerce Secretary vows | EUROtoday

The Trump administration will deal with TikTook’s future by the unique deadline set within the President’s January govt order, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick mentioned.

Hours after taking workplace, President Donald Trump signed an govt order giving TikTook’s guardian firm ByteDance till April 5 to both divest or be banned from American app shops.

Now, Lutnick tells Fox Business that Trump “doesn’t like to ask for extensions” and desires to “get it done in the timeframe that he has.”

Yet Trump mentioned final week he’ll “probably” prolong the deadline if a deal isn’t reached in time. On Sunday, he added that the administration is in talks with 4 totally different teams a few potential sale.

“We have a lot of interest in TikTok,” Trump mentioned. “China is going to play a role, so hopefully China will approve of the deal. But they’re going to play a role.”

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Trump’s govt order marked an extension from the unique January 19 deadline, which then-President Joe Biden mentioned he wouldn’t implement because it was his final full day in workplace.

“To fulfill those responsibilities, I intend to consult with my advisers, including the heads of relevant departments and agencies on the national security concerns posed by TikTok, and to pursue a resolution that protects national security while saving a platform used by 170 million Americans,” Trump’s order learn.

The app nonetheless went darkish for just a few hours, nevertheless, because the regulation went into impact. TikTook got here again on-line after Trump promised to increase the divestment deadline, later displaying customers a pop-up message thanking the president.

“Welcome back! Thanks for your patience and support,” the pop-up learn. “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!”

Still, Lutnick warned Thursday that Trump won’t dealer a sale by the deadline, which is now simply weeks away.

“He is going to try his best,” Lutnick mentioned. “He doesn’t control everything, but he is going to try his best.”