TikTok’s future in the US is still in question: talks with potential buyers have not yet begun

With less than a month left before TikTok’s U.S. sale deadline, its Chinese owner has yet to begin talks with potential buyers, while companies interested in buying it are increasingly frustrated by a lack of access to the platform’s financial and technical details.

Image source: Solen Feyissa / Unsplash

As Axios writes, the situation is also complicated by the lack of clarity in the negotiating process on the part of the US administration. Initially, the deal was expected to be overseen by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, since he chairs the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). However, now the initiative appears to have been seized by Vice President JD Vance.

The Chinese authorities, for their part, have not publicly commented on the situation. One source even compared the negotiations to “juggling four balls when one of them is invisible.” At the same time, participants in the discussions are proposing different versions of the deal, but no one is sure what its final format should be.

In terms of timing, April 5 does not appear to be a final date, as Trump has previously extended TikTok’s ban in the US for 75 days without legal justification, so experts say there is no reason to believe he won’t be able to do so again.

In addition, signing at least a preliminary agreement could provide grounds for extending the deadline in accordance with last year’s law. In addition, Senator Edward Markey has proposed delaying the purchase for an additional 270 days. However, this initiative has not yet been advanced in Congress.

Interestingly, amid the uncertainty, Trump has publicly voiced the idea of ​​creating a US sovereign wealth fund to buy TikTok, with Michael Grimes, a former top banker at Morgan Stanley, tasked with leading the project. However, many experts believe this initiative is unrealistic due to the high level of US government debt.