President Donald Trump valued TikTok’s U.S. assets at $14 billion in an executive order signed in September.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the sale of TikTok to a U.S. buyer could be completed on Thursday, October 30th.
In an Oct. 26 interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Bessent said President Donald Trump finalized the TikTok deal during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in September. The two leaders will meet in South Korea on Thursday, October 30th.
“As of today, all the details have been worked out and the two leaders will be in South Korea to finalize the transaction on Thursday,” Bessent said of the sale. He did not provide additional information about the sale, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for clarification when contacted by USA TODAY on Oct. 29.
What is a TikTok preliminary agreement?
On September 25, President Trump signed an executive order valuing TikTok’s U.S. assets at $14 billion. This comes days after the White House announced that a tentative agreement had been reached to keep the short video platform available in the United States.
The agreement will separate TikTok’s U.S. operations into a new joint venture with majority American ownership. Oracle, a US-based technology company, will act as a security provider for TikTok’s US operations. The complete portfolio of ownership is expected to be combined upon closing of the transaction, which is expected in early 2026.
How did we get here? Summarizing the ban on TikTok
Talks of selling TikTok to a U.S. buyer have been in the works since President Trump took office.
Some government officials have expressed concern that TikTok poses a national security threat, believing that ByteDance, the Beijing-based parent company of TikTok, is sharing U.S. user data with China. TikTok has repeatedly denied these claims.
In January, the platform went dark in less than 24 hours under a federal law signed into law by former President Joe Biden that is set to become law in 2024, after ByteDance failed to sell the platform by a set deadline.
Since January, President Trump has signed four executive orders extending deadlines for selling TikTok.
Contributors: Joey Garrison and Zac Anderson, USA TODAY
Greta Cross is USA TODAY’s national trends reporter. Story ideas? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.
