President Trump has shared progress on trade relations in a latest post on Truth Social, hinting that a deal over TikTok may finally be within reach. This comes just days before the deadline that could have led to a ban of the popular app in the United States.
“The big Trade Meeting in Europe between the United States of America, and China, has gone VERY WELL! It will be concluding shortly,” Trump said.
TikTok Deal In Sight?
Trump also said that a deal had been reached involving a “certain” company popular among young Americans, and added that “they will be very happy” with the outcome. This was likely in reference to the dispute over TikTok, the social media app.
“I will be speaking to President Xi on Friday. The relationship remains a very strong one,” he added.
U.S Treasury Scott Bessent also confirmed that Washington and Beijing had reached a “framework” deal to address the long-running dispute over TikTok. He added that final details would be worked out after President Trump speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.
TikTok’s Future in the U.S.
Talks between the United States and China began in Madrid on Sunday, with both governments confirming that economic and trade issues were on the table, including the ongoing dispute over TikTok.
TikTok could have been forced to shut down in the U.S. as early as September 17 if its Chinese owner, ByteDance, didn’t agree to sell. Bessent said that the deadline might be extended to finalize the deal.
Earlier, the U.S had warned that it might ban TikTok unless China eased demands on tariffs and tech rules for a divestiture deal. Bessent also said more talks are likely in the coming days to resolve trade and economic issues.
Tariff Tensions Soften
It’s well known that trade relations between the two countries have been under heavy strain this year, with both sides imposing steep tariffs on each other’s goods.
Recently, they agreed to ease some of the strain by temporarily cutting duties to 30% on U.S. exports to China and 10% on Chinese goods heading to the U.S.
In August, they also struck a separate deal to delay higher tariffs for 90 days, setting a new deadline of November 10.
